Wrapped in a New Flag
Hoffman Clears All Hurdles to Compete for Family's Native Land
John Roth, GoDuke The Magazine
As a fifth-year senior two seasons ago, Lauren Hoffman ran the 400-meter hurdles better than anyone in Duke track history.
Along with breaking her own school record four times, Hoffman captured the ACC title, claimed the bronze medal at the NCAA championships and reached the finals of USATF nationals, where she finished seventh in a race that saw Sydney McLaughlin set a world record.
Two years later, Hoffman now is preparing to perform on an even bigger stage. She’s headed to France to compete in the 400 hurdles at the Paris Olympics — while representing a nation close to her heart and her family, the Philippines.
“It’s such an incredible feeling,” Hoffman said prior to departure for a pre-Olympic training camp. “It’s been my dream for so long. I think every athlete wants to go to the Olympics at some point in their life. I’m not sure when I first started sports, I was so young, so this is a dream like 25 years in the making.
“It’s so special for me and my family, a testament to all the hard work I’ve put in. It hasn’t been an easy road. There are always road bumps and literal high hurdles to jump. I just showed up every day, tried to be consistent and put in the work, and I’m really glad this dream has come to fruition.”
Hoffman, who turned 25 in March, is a lifelong U.S. citizen, but her mother was born in the Philippines and immigrated to America during her childhood, along with Hoffman’s grandmother, an aunt and an uncle. She first thought about trying to compete for the Philippines when she was a Duke sophomore, when she ran the 400 hurdles in 57.9 seconds and noticed that was only a few tenths off the Philippines national record. She began exploring the process for obtaining dual citizenship that year and it finally happened in 2023.
“I finally got my citizenship and passport last summer and fall,” she said. “I got to make my Philippines debut at the Asian Games in China and that was very special. I didn’t compete the way I wanted to but that was my first time repping the flag, wearing the colors, having Philippines across my chest. So that was very special to me. Every time I step on the track I just want to represent them well.”
Hoffman also repped the Philippines at the World Indoor Championships in March and set the country’s national record in the 400 meters during the indoor season.. In May she traveled to the Philippines national championship meet and won the 400 hurdles (as well as the 100 hurdles) but did not automatically qualify for Paris because her best time, while a national record, did not beat the Olympic qualifying standard of 54.85 seconds. She instead got her spot in Paris due to her ranking among the top 40 in the world and will be the only female track athlete in the Philippines delegation.
Hoffman’s Duke career stands as a prime example of the workmanlike determination that is often required to gradually progress from an all-state high school performer to an All-America collegian. She improved every year, particularly over her last three seasons when she went from third to second to first in the ACC, and from 19th to 10th to third in the NCAA in her specialty.
When she decided to further her track career following her last Duke meet in 2022, she opted to stay in Durham and train under the coach who guided her collegiate development, Blue Devil sprints coach Mark Mueller. She’s done virtually all of her training the past two years on the Duke track with Mueller and a club known as the Durham Sprint Project (DSP), which also includes her former teammate and two-time Canadian Olympian Maddy Price.
“I’ve been there since I was like 18 years old. It’s kinda cool to think of all the growth that’s happened on that track and on that campus,” she said.
“It’s been amazing to see her grow and mature and develop,” said Mueller, who coached seven former collegiate athletes with the DSP this past year. “What she did her last year at NCAAs was incredible and then these last two years, the transition to the professional world is very challenging. There are a lot of things that are really different, a lot of new stressors (travel, financial support, citizenship issues)…and I’m just really proud of how she’s been persistent, the grit and determination she’s shown, the perseverance. It’s definitely not been an easy journey. I know she still has a lot of goals athletically, how far she wants to go with it, and she still has room to grow and improve, but it’s been exciting.”
Hoffman’s Olympic competition begins with the first round of the 400 hurdles on Aug. 4. It’s not lost on her that she’ll be involved in perhaps the premier event at this year’s Olympic track meet. The 400 hurdles is headed by one of track & field’s preeminent performers in USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the current world record holder, along with rival Femke Bol of the Netherlands. Hoffman has raced against McLaughlin-Levrone numerous times in the past, including at the 2022 USATF nationals when they were in the same heat in all three rounds. McLaughlin-Levrone set the world record at 51.41 seconds in the final, while Hoffman placed seventh in 56.00 seconds.
“It’s so cool. I’ve run against her since high school,” Hoffman noted. “We were in the same graduating class so even at New Balance nationals I was trying to stay with her. But she’s just a generational talent and she’s like a role model and inspiration to me even though we’re the same age. She just continues to push the boundaries of the sport. She keeps pushing limits and everybody kind of follows.
“Luckily I have raced against her multiple times. I feel like that’s great to have that experience so I’m not getting to the meet nervous, thinking ‘Oh no, the world record-holder.’ I’ve been there. I can do anything. But she’s the best of the best. Amazing.”
That might also be an apt description for Hoffman’s journey to the starting line in a Philippines uniform — amazing.
“The Olympics is a life-changing accomplishment for anybody at any level,” Mueller said, “but I know she has bigger ambitions than just being an Olympian. She wants to grow the sport in the Philippines, she wants to continue to progress in her own career, get faster and get better. It’s exciting and we want to celebrate the victories, but we don’t want to be like, ‘We’ve arrived.’ We’ve still got work to do. She’s still very motivated. This is the start of her Olympic and professional journey.”
“She’s the best point guard in the world. How cool is that?” Lawson says. “She runs our team. She’s a veteran voice. She’s very, very competitive and really plays well in pressure moments, in big games. Oozes confidence, not only for herself but for her team. She’s awesome to coach. She has such a smart way about the way she sees the game and she communicates the game. She’s next level in terms of her feel. Her passing has been world-class for a long time.”
This story originally appeared in the 15.12 issue of GoDuke The Magazine – July 2024. Dedicated to sharing the stories of Duke student-athletes, present and past, GoDuke The Magazine is published for Duke Athletics by LEARFIELD with editorial offices at 3100 Tower Blvd., Suite 404, Durham, NC 27707. To subscribe, join the Iron Dukes or call 336-831-0767.