This BYU sprinter almost called it quits — then became a school record holder
Paje Rasmussen earned a spot on the BYU track team after serving a church mission. Her journey since hasn’t been easy but is gaining speed.
BYU's Paje Rasmussen, left, competes during meet at Weber State, Jan. 10, 2026. | Emma Thomas, BYU Photo Paje Rasmussen, a junior sprinter from Corner Canyon High and BYU, almost quit and was almost cut from the team.
Good thing for both parties that neither event happened. Last weekend, she introduced herself as one of the fastest women in the country, posting a time of 11. 06 in a trial heat of the Texas Relays 100-meter dash.
It was a shocking performance, one that seemed to come out of nowhere. Only three women in the world have run faster so far this year. It also crushed the BYU school record.
The next day Rasmussen placed third in the finals of one of the most prestigious collegiate competitions in the country. To put it in perspective, her previous personal record was 11. 52 set a year earlier, and that was an outlier — it ended a streak of five consecutive races in which she had run in the 11.
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