The Wings Track Club hosted an event honoring alumna Raevyn Rogers on Aug. 28. Rogers won a bronze medal in the 800 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and became the fourth-fastest American woman to run the event. Several Junior Olympians from the Wings Track Club were also honored at the event.
The event was also attended by representatives from the offices of U.S. representative Al Green, state representative Ron Reynolds, Missouri City Mayor Robin Elackatt, and Missouri City Council members. August 28, 2021 was officially named Raevyn Rogers Day in Fort Bend County by a proclamation from county commissioner Grady Prestage.
Rhonda Hunt, Rogers’s mother, told the story of how Rogers started with the Wings Track Club. Rogers started running track at 5 years old, and in her first year, Hunt said she would hold hands with the other runners. Hunt said that while her daughter would sometimes cry at practice, she never gave up, and she never stopped running.
“That is the whole story of Raevyn right there: ‘I didn’t stop,’” Hunt said.
Wings Track Club head coach William Wilmington spoke about the coaches’ experiences supporting Raevyn as she went on to break national youth track and field records.
“You can’t say enough about Raevyn Rogers,” Wilmington said. “But Raevyn, we took care of you from our heart.”
Rogers thanked all of her coaches and congratulated the Junior Olympians at the event. She said that her success as an athlete was because of the support she got from her family, her coaches, and her mentors.
“I would say the success that I’ve had has been because of my faith in God, I’m surrounded by God-fearing people, and I’ve been placed around people that genuinely love me and want the best for me,” Rogers said.
Rogers also thanked Missouri City and said that she was glad to be able to come back to celebrate with the Wings Track Club, which she described as the foundation of her track career.
“This has been a huge, amazing honor,” Rogers said. “It’s so important to be able to come back home and see that so much of my hard work has paid off. I can’t thank everybody enough.”
