‘Good to be home.’ Olympian Cory McGee returns to MS Coast for a special event with dad

Olympian runner Cory McGee returned to the MS Coast on Tuesday for a reception at William Carey University’s Tradition Campus in Biloxi after her Olympic debut in Tokyo.

The university, where her father Jim McGee is an assistant profession of criminal justice, hosted an event celebrating Cory’s Olympic achievements as well as Jim’s recent Ph.D.

“It’s so good to be home, I think it’s the first time I can really take a deep breath,” she said. “Of course it’s been 20 years in the making trying to make the Olympic team, and a large part of that is representing where I’m from.”

McGee made it through two rounds of qualifying in the women’s 1,500 meters in the Tokyo Olympics, but she came up short of earning a medal in the finals. She finished 12th out of 13 competitors with a time of 4:05.50.

“Cory raced in the 1,500 meters final against the fastest women in history,” said Jim McGee told the Sun Herald in August. “Because of the injuries she sustained from the fall in the semifinal, she could barely run yesterday. She exemplified true grit and ran today anyway despite the pain. Cory did her absolute best despite being far less than 100%. Cory is a true champion.”

The runn is a 2010 graduate of Pass Christian High School, and had a standout career on the collegiate level at Florida. During her prep career at Pass Christian, McGee earned 22 gold medals, one silver and three bronze in track and field and cross country.

She now lives in Boston and trains in Colorado, so she does not spend a lot time on the Mississippi Coast but said she appreciates the support the Coast has given her.

Patrick Magee contributed to this story.

This story was originally published September 21, 2021 at 7:34 PM.