Coming off strong finishes at the Big East Indoor Championships and the ECAC Championships, St. John’s University senior sprinter Skyy Diop is feeling confident. At the Big East Championships, she recorded personal bests in both of her races—placing fourth in the 200-meter dash and earning the silver medal behind teammate Leah Anderson in the 400 meters. She was also a part of the 4×400 relay team that took the silver medal. Her impressive performances continued at the ECAC Championships, where she achieved a personal best in the 400 meters and finished first.
“This indoor season went very well,” said Diop. “Every race and competition I was consistently getting better, which gave me the confidence to run the times that I ran at the ECACs. After Big East, I felt I had more in me to run even faster. The ECACs proved it was true.”
Diop, who is from Whitby, Ontario, Canada, grew up wanting to run college track in the United States. “I started track when I was 12, and ever since then I’ve been on the path of competing. It was always my dream to go to a college for track and for my education,” she said. “The U.S. was the best place for it. I chose St. John’s University because of my coach and the teammates that were there, and it all worked out.”
The last two years have not been easy. Outdoor season in 2020 was canceled abruptly due to the pandemic. Indoor season in 2021 was quite short. The Red Storm got back in action during the 2021 outdoor season and looked forward to an uninterrupted 2021-’22 competition year. Thus far, this year has been very consistent.
“This season has been my best since I’ve been at St. John’s because of the consistency, the hard work and the confidence that I have,” said Diop, who gives credit to her teammates and to the director of track and field, Aliann Pompey. “All that coming together helped me run what I did.”
Diop will graduate with her bachelor’s degree in graphic design this spring. She has another year of eligibility but has not yet decided if she will remain at St. John’s, start graduate school and run another year.
Right now, her focus is on outdoor seasons, which starts March 23. “I believe this outdoor is going to go very well,” said Diop.