As painful and traumatic as 2020 was for everyone, UTEP track athletes with Olympic dreams could see the upside.
For athletes such as senior hurdler Shakeem Smith, a Bahamanian who faced a deferred senior year and a deferred Olympic Games, the lockdown meant one more year to work, get better, get closer to the prime of his career.
Last week at the Conference USA Championships, that meant a pair of personal bests while winning the 400-meter and 110-meter hurdles, as well as a gold medal in the 400-meter relay.
As his career points to next month's NCAA Championships, to the Bahamanian Olympic Trials and the Tokyo Games beyond that, everything has come together for Smith to set himself up for a special end to a special UTEP career.