By Ben Wright
LSU Sports Information
Despite her quiet demeanor, LSU sprinter Neisha Bernard-Thomas continues to make big noise on the track as one of the nation’s premier 800-meter runners.
A national champion in the outdoor 800 meters and the outdoor 4×400-meter relay, Bernard-Thomas is looking for matching indoor titles this season. She is already off to a great start, clocking a 2:05:09 in the 800 meters and helping the 4×400 team to break the meet record with a time of 3:31:92 at the New York Armory Invitational.
Setting records is nothing new for Bernard-Thomas. During her first season at LSU she snatched the school record in the 800 meters. At last years’ NCAA Championships she and her 4×400 meter mates posted a time of 3:25:26, demolishing the old school record by nearly two full seconds.
With all of her accolades one would expect a confident and outspoken team leader, however quite the opposite is true of Bernard-Thomas.
“I don’t think of myself as a leader,” she said in her gentle voice. “I just think of myself as someone to talk to.”
Through her humility it’s easy to see the little girl who grew up in Grenada had no plans of becoming one of the best track stars in the United States.
“I didn’t even like running at first,” Bernard-Thomas said. “My coach at my elementary school talked me into it.”
However disinterested she might have been it did not take long for others to notice her extreme talent. Not long after entering the world of track and field, Bernard-Thomas made Grenada’s Junior National Team where she, not surprisingly, set a new 800-meter record.
Bernard-Thomas, then moved in with relatives in New York City to finish high school and pursue her running career. It was there that she first caught the eye of LSU track coach Dennis Shaver and he continued to recruit her while she attended Arizona Junior College.
“I saw her run when she was a senior in high school,” LSU head track and field Coach Dennis Shaver said. “We continued to follow her progress at Arizona Junior College and we really believed that she would succeed in our environment .”
Bernard-Thomas didn’t take long to make an impact at LSU. She finished second in the 800 meters and first as member of the 4×400 meters at the NCAA Championships, helping the Lady Tigers to the 2003 NCAA Outdoor title. She also received all-SEC honors.
However, Bernard-Thomas didn’t stop there, she continued to grow and improve as a runner. She got over the hump in 2004 winning the outdoor 800 meters to claim her first individual national title.
“I really think I’ve gotten better,” she said. “My coaches and my training partners have really helped me a lot. They’ve pushed me everyday in the workouts and helped me to correct my mistakes.”
“She’s a fantastic example of someone who once they make up there mind is going to achieve something. The limits are pretty much non-existent,” Shaver said.
Now entering her final season of collegiate eligibility, the six-time All-American will take one more shot at becoming the NCAA Indoor 800 meter champion, the only race she has yet to conquer in her career. Bernard-Thomas automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships with her first run at the Armory Invitational and her coach has faith that she can bring home the title this time.
“I think she has a good chance,” Shaver said. “Right now she has the third fastest time and in the race she ran she was way out front from 400 meters on. There are maybe three people who could win it and she’s definitely one of them.”
Bernard-Thomas however seems unfazed by any hype and focused on what she needs to do to help her team win another national championship.
“I just need to run smart, run my own race, and not get nervous,” she said. “The team is looking pretty good and everyone just needs to step up and do what they’re supposed to do.”
Despite her career at LSU coming to an end Bernard-Thomas has lofty goals for the future.
“My first goal when I leave here will be to try to qualify the 2008 Olympics,” she said. “It’s my dream to one day run in an Olympic final.”
Bernard-Thomas hopes to follow up the Olympic Games with a professional track career, but if that doesn’t work she doesn’t seem to mind becoming a nine to five person.
She said laughingly, “If that doesn’t work I’ll just go to grad school and get a job like everybody else.”
For now though LSU will continue to enjoy her services, as she and the Tigers try to win the SEC Indoor Championships this weekend in Fayetteville, Ark., at the Randall Tyson Track Complex.