BYU’s Diljeet Taylor has spent her time in Paris at the 2024 Olympics coaching two former BYU runners — and rubbing shoulders with some of the sports world’s most recognizable stars.
On Sunday, Taylor posed for a photo with Tom Brady, South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley and University of North Carolina field hockey head coach Erin Matson.
The meeting came after Taylor attended a dinner set up by Nike. She’s part of Nike’s Athlete Think Tank this year, as the Deseret News previously reported.
This year’s think tank marked the first time coaches were included, putting Taylor in elite company as one of four coaches selected.
Staley, U.S. women’s national soccer team head coach Emma Hayes and Jenny Lang Ping, the former head coach of the Chinese and American national women’s volleyball teams, are the other three coaches in the think tank.
Taylor also attended a beach volleyball game over the weekend and posed for a photo with Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Staley, Matson and former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams in front of the Eiffel Tower.
On Monday, Taylor attended a women’s gymnastics event alongside Staley, Bird, Rapinoe and USC basketball star JuJu Watkins.
They watched American gymnasts Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles win silver and bronze in the floor exercise.
Taylor then ended the evening watching BYU’s Whittni Morgan race in the women’s 5,000-meter finals. Morgan ran a time of 14:53.57, around 25 seconds behind the medalists.
Morgan had an improbable journey to the Olympics. She had knee surgery eight months before finishing fifth at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in June. She claimed a spot on Team USA when two finishers ahead of her dropped out to focus on competing in other events in Paris.
“That woman worked harder than anyone I know,” Taylor told the Deseret News of Morgan. “She was very committed to her cross-training, and she had great support from doctors and the (physical therapists) around her. It was definitely a group effort.”
Who is Diljeet Taylor?
Taylor is the women’s cross country head coach and the associate track and field director at BYU. She has been at the university since 2016.
She is also the coach of former BYU Cougars turned professional runners Morgan and Courtney Wayment.
Wayment qualified for the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase final on Sunday, her 26th birthday. She will compete for a medal on Tuesday.
Wayment barely missed out competing at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago when she finished fourth — one spot short of making the team — at the U.S. track and field Olympic trials.
She told the Deseret News in July that she credits Taylor for helping her gain such high confidence in herself and also described Taylor as an example to her “of giving gratitude back to God because he has led us here.”