It shouldn’t come as a surprise Chloe Lindbo excels at the heptathlon.
The 2016 Ridgefield High graduate proved long ago she’s a gifted multi-tasker. Whether it’s competing at state in three events as a high school senior, or the must-have music to accompany homework, she’s set up for success in track and field’s seven-event specialty.
Her recent 4,411 personal-best score climbed her to third all-time in Clark College’s heptathlon top-10 list.
“I thrive off having more on my plate,” Lindbo said. “I feel like I do better when I have more events.
“There always has to be something else going on.”
The more, the better, if Lindbo has her way. That full plate has taken Lindbo from a one-time distance runner to a contender in the Northwest Athletic Conference multi-event championship.
The heptathlon is track and field’s combined event competition (for men, it’s the 10-event decathlon) with points awarded based on performance in the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin and 800.
Lindbo wasn’t destined for heptathlon stardom at first — that is, until she learned what prestige came with being labeled a heptathlete.
A former distance runner who ran three years of cross country at Ridgefield, Lindbo’s athleticism that accompanied her height of 5 foot 10 made the Spudders’ track and field coaching staff think there’s more in her than long-distance races.
Heptathlon and decathlon competitions are not sanctioned by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, but an unofficial end-of-season multi-event state championships is held annually after state. Lindbo reached the track and field state meet three times, including qualifying in the 400, 800 and high jump her senior year. That paved the way for stardom at Clark.
Head coach Bob Williams was stunned to learn Lindbo wasn’t on other schools’ radars for an athlete who’s now attracting Division I and Division II interest.
“When we found her,” he said, “we couldn’t believe no one looked at her.”
And that’s only benefited the Penguins.
Lindbo carries four pairs of specialty-event shoes to meets, and estimates she practices at least an hour longer than her teammates. She admits shot put is her weakest event, but because the heptathlon is based on points, Lindbo puts the most training into events she knows she has a better chance of scoring more points.
That begins with the 800. As part of her 4,411 score to place second at the March 27 at Pacific University, she ran a personal-best 2 minutes, 18 seconds in the 800 — the two-day competition’s final event. That ranks first in the NWAC among all 800 times registered this season by 0.14 seconds. In fact, the sophomore also has conference-leading times in the 400 (58.31), 200 (25.82) and ranks second in the 100 hurdles (14.99).
Lindbo says as much as a physical toll the heptathlon takes on a body — “I’d love to take a nap in-between events,” she said — the mental side can be just as taxing. Drain and fatigue can wear on her, but nothing beats competition days, which she says are easier compared to practice’s daily grind.
“Some days are harder,” Lindbo said, “but those are the days I know I’m getting better. It’s so much easier to quit, but it’s so hard to keep going. Why wouldn’t you just keep going when you know it’s the better reward?”
Assistant coach Marinella Jiganie believes Lindbo has only scratched the surface of her potential. Jiganie believes Lindbo’s best times and marks are still ahead of her the final five weeks of the season. The conference’s multi-event championship is April 30 and May 1, followed by the NWAC South Region championships May 12 and the NWAC championships May 21-22.
Lindbo’s positive approach is the chief reason.
“She doesn’t doubt herself,” said Jiganie, an ex-sprints and hurdles coach at Union and Hockinson. “Every time we work on something, the attitude of her is, ‘I can do it.’ She’s open to whatever training it is, then has that ‘I-can-do-it’ attitude and believes it and goes for it.”
That’s when Lindbo’s love for the sport shines brightest.
“There’s no way I’d be this tired all the time if I didn’t absolutely love doing it,” Lindbo said. “… I take pride in saying I’m a heptathlete.”
