Nine months after giving birth to her daughter, Darcy, BYU's Krystie Solomon-Jensen dropped to her knees on a track in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Moments earlier, she had run the fastest 800 meters of her life.
Now, someone was telling her she was headed to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
“There was a lady from some other school sitting in front of them,” Solomon-Jensen said. “She pulled up the results and she’s like, ‘Girl, you’re in.’ I kind of just broke down on the track and fell to my knees and was like, ‘Wait, this is huge. Like, I’m going to nationals.’”
For a moment, everything felt still.
The celebration lasted only a few minutes, but the journey behind it had taken much longer.
Just nine months earlier, Solomon-Jensen had given birth to her first child. She was learning how to be a mother while trying to figure out whether the running career she had spent years building still had a future.
There were days she wondered what her body would feel like again. Days she balanced workouts, classes, working, and taking care of her baby. Days when simply getting out the door felt like an accomplishment.
For her father, Darcy Solomon, that is what makes the accomplishment so meaningful.
“For her just to get there nine months ago, that's the miracle,” he said.
For Solomon-Jensen, making nationals was about much more than one race.
It was proof that the dream she carried from New Zealand to BYU was still alive.
“I’m a mother now, but I still have these running dreams and aspirations,” Solomon-Jensen said. “It’s kind of cool that I’ve been able to dream big in one area, but also having this big dream of being the best mother I can be. Coming together, it’s been a long time."
"I gave birth nine months ago now, but just thinking about every little thing since giving birth, like even the day that I gave birth, I was like, ‘Okay, when can I get back to running?’”
Growing up, sports were a part of her everyday life.
“My family are pretty sporty,” she said. “Sport has been a huge part of our family.”
Her father played rugby, basketball and track. Her mother, Toni Solomon, competed in basketball at a high level.
As a young girl, Solomon-Jensen quickly discovered she loved running.
“I would do that as a kid, but I quickly learned that I loved the sprints, and I was quick, so I just wanted to run around," she said.
That passion eventually opened opportunities beyond New Zealand.
As she developed into one of the country’s top young middle-distance runners, colleges in the United States began reaching out. BYU stood out because of its track program and because it offered a chance to be surrounded by other members of her faith.
“I was the only LDS person in my high school,” Solomon-Jensen said. “So I wasn’t used to being around Mormons. I really didn’t know what I was getting into.”
What she found was a team, a community and friendships that would eventually help carry her through one of the most challenging seasons of her life.
Earlier, when she found out she was pregnant, she wasn't sure what her running career was going to look like.
Darcy Solomon still remembers the phone call.
“I know she rang crying and upset,” he said. “She felt that she'd let everyone down because she came to America to run. I kind of had to put on the father hat and comfort and support her and just say, ‘This is a blessing, just embrace what's going on.’”
For Solomon-Jensen, there were some unanswered questions.
She did not know what pregnancy would mean for her running career. She did not know how difficult recovery would be. She did not know whether she would ever return to the same level.
Her parents saw something different in her.
Toni Solomon remembers trying to help her daughter understand that motherhood did not mean her dreams had to end.
“Krystie’s always said to me, ‘Mum, you did it. When did you start running after you had me?’” Toni said. “She’d always ask, ‘Mum, how long? You did it. I can do it, hey, mum?'
"I would always tell her, of course you can. You can do anything you want to do.”
Part of her confidence came from hearing about her mother's experience.
Toni returned to competitive basketball shortly after giving birth to Krystie, and she grew up hearing those stories.
“I think she did look to me for some guidance in that space,” Toni said.
Darcy believes his daughter always had a powerful example in front of her.
“I think deep down she had a good role model in her mother,” he said. “There was a little bit of friendly rivalry going on. Krystie thought she was competing with her mum as well. She thought, ‘If she was six weeks coming back postpartum, I’m coming back in that time as well.’”
Sure enough, the comeback began quickly for her.
Two weeks after giving birth, Solomon-Jensen started jogging again. Then came the mileage, cross-training, weightlifting and eventually full practices.
She tried to focus on progress rather than perfection.
“Every day to me was just like, you're getting closer and closer to that goal, don't give up on it,” Solomon-Jensen said. “It wasn’t, ‘You just gave birth. You’re nowhere near that.’ It was more, ‘You just gave birth, but you're still able to show up and run or jog or lift weights or whatever it was.’”
Returning, however, was far from easy.
“I shy away from showing how hard it actually is,” she said. “I feel like from an outside perspective it’s like, ‘Oh, that seemed easy. Giving birth seemed easy and coming back seemed easy to her.’ But deep down, it was a struggle every day.”
BYU teammate Carlee Hansen-Thompson saw that struggle firsthand.
“I think people don't realize how scary it was for Kris to begin with to get pregnant,” Hansen-Thompson said. “Coach (Diljeet) Taylor told her, ‘It completely just depends on the person. I can't tell you how much you can run. You need to just be okay with what's going to happen to your body.’”
The uncertainty continued after her daughter Darcy was born.
“She was fortunate enough that she could start running relatively quickly,” Hansen-Thompson said. “But then she got hurt. She pushed her body too fast postpartum. Her body had to tell her to stop.”
The setback cost Solomon-Jensen much of her indoor season.
For many athletes, it would have been enough reason to move on.
“She had every excuse in the book,” Hansen-Thompson said. “Nobody would have even blinked an eye because of what she's gone through. But she always said, ‘No. I'm coming back.’”
Hansen-Thompson admired the way her teammate handled every obstacle.
“She was keeping very calm in the chaos,” she said. “There were hard days, but even on those hard days she’s like, ‘This sucks, but this is not gonna be the end.’”
Darcy saw that same determination.
“It wasn't easy,” he said. “She was balancing everything else around her too. She wasn't just coming back after having a baby. She was still going to school, she was young married, and she had to keep everything in line and in sync. School, wife, mother, runner — all striving to be the best she could be in each individual step of the way.”
Toni also understood how much harder the experience was because her daughter was doing it thousands of miles from home.
“I had heaps of support here in New Zealand,” Toni said. “With my mum and my dad and siblings and family. They were all over it. So I was able to do things. I think Krystie’s done it quite hard.”
She paused.
“I wish I was there to help her.”
That distance has been one of the most difficult parts of watching her daughter become a mother.
“She’s still my baby that I want to hold,” Toni said. “I’ve missed those years.”
At the same time, Toni has watched her daughter grow into a new stage of life.
“She’s a woman,” she said. “She’s more mature. She’s probably a little harder than she used to be. Krystie was always super soft, and she still is, but she’s had to grow up by herself and do this by herself.”
The support system around Solomon-Jensen became one of the defining parts of her comeback.
Her parents encouraged her from New Zealand. Her husband, Jace, stepped in wherever he was needed. Her teammates embraced both her and baby Darcy.
“There were just so many people that have been able to ease the hard parts of being a mother,” Solomon-Jensen said. “I didn’t have to do it alone.”
If she needed help, someone was there.
“If I needed to take a quiz, go stretch and roll out, maybe even take a nap, they were so willing to just take her.”
Her teammates eventually became family.
“My teammates, I know that I've made friends for life, and it doesn't feel like teammates,” she said. “They're like my family. I’m grateful for their kindness and the aunts that they are to Darcy.”
Hansen-Thompson said Solomon-Jensen’s journey changed the way she thinks about challenges.
One day, while talking with her teammates about difficult situations athletes face, she found herself bringing up Solomon-Jensen.
“You know who's done something crazier than that?” Hansen-Thompson said. “Freaking Krystie?!”
She laughed.
“I think we forget that she even had a baby. We see Darcy and we're obsessed with her and love her, but then we actually have to think about what it took for her to come back from that. All the hard work, dedication and self-belief.”
Watching her teammate navigate pregnancy, motherhood and a comeback inspired everyone around her.
“It showed that anything is possible if you put your mind to it,” Hansen-Thompson said. “Even through trials and hard things, she’s always a fearless fighter. A fearless believer.”
Motherhood changed many parts of Solomon-Jensen’s life, but the people closest to her believe it never changed who she was.
“Krystie’s been Krystie,” Darcy said. “She hasn't changed. She's still that kind, thoughtful young girl that we sent here many years ago.”
Toni agreed.
“She's kept herself intact,” Toni said. “She’s still a nice person. You’d never even know she ran track. You won’t even know that she’s made nationals because she’s so low-key and humble."
Hansen-Thompson sees it too.
“It’s still Kris,” she said. “She cracks jokes. She’s funny. She’s such a good mom, but she’s still the same Kris that I remember before she had her baby.”
That consistency is part of what makes her such a valued teammate.
“She simultaneously can make you feel loved, understood, but also at the same time like you're having the best time of your life,” Hansen-Thompson said. “I'm laughing every single time I'm with her. She’s always looking out for people. She’s the kind of person that’s putting her hand over someone’s shoulder. I just get excited to see her smile.”
For Solomon-Jensen, motherhood also changed the way she views the sport.
Her daughter became part of the reason she kept going.
“I know that I don't have to just do this for myself,” she said. “I can do this for her too.”
Everything carries a little more meaning now.
“My example is now her textbook,” Solomon-Jensen said. “She's listening, she's constantly listening. Even though she's little, she'll learn as time goes on. If mom says this about herself, I'm going to say this about myself.”
Toni sees that influence every day.
“I think baby Darcy is a motivation,” she said. “I think she has been the motivation for Krystie. I think Krystie’s seen the love that a parent can have for a child. She loves baby Darcy, like next level.”
She hopes one day her granddaughter understands what this season represented.
“Krystie's going to run for Darcy,” Toni said. “and she's going to show her women can do anything.”
Looking back, Toni sees the full weight of what her daughter accomplished.
“She had a baby, came back, and then finally made nationals,” Toni said. “How cool is that?”
But she also knows the public only sees part of the story.
“No one sees the hard behind the scenes,” she said. “Everyone sees the Personal Bests. We see all the tears and the struggle.”
Looking back, Darcy believes that consistency may be what he is most proud of.
“She just gets out and runs as hard as she can,” he said. “Words can't explain how proud and happy we are.”
When Solomon-Jensen arrived in Eugene, Oregon, for nationals, her father was there to watch in person.
So was baby Darcy.
For the first time, both Darcys were at the track together.
“I’m taking the baby,” Darcy said before the meet. “It’ll be the first time that her father and her child will be at the track together.”
For him, the moment represented far more than a race.
“Holding this baby, letting her watch her mum — those are memories she might not remember, but she'll be able to see it someday.”
The race marked the end of Solomon-Jensen’s collegiate career, but it may not mark the end of her running career.
In some ways, she feels like she is just getting started.
“I don't want this to be my peak,” Solomon-Jensen said. “This is fun and I’ve learned a lot and it’s been a really good experience, but I’m ready to see what else is in store.”
She still hopes to compete after college and potentially represent New Zealand again.
“I’m not ready to stop running and racing yet,” she said.
Looking back, she also appreciates the full-circle nature of her journey.
Two years earlier, she stood on the same track in Arkansas while pregnant and missed out on nationals.
This time, she left as a national qualifier.
“It was kind of like a full-circle moment,” she said. “Last time I was here, I didn’t make it. This time I made it, but also so much has happened since then.”
The dream that brought her from New Zealand to BYU never disappeared.
It simply grew.
Now, as a mother, a graduate and a national qualifier, Solomon-Jensen carries more than her own ambitions onto the track.
And one day, she hopes her daughter will understand why.
“I feel like she'll be able to notice that this was a dream that I wasn't willing to give up,” Solomon-Jensen said. “And I want that.”