Malachi Austin: eager to make the most of LSU journey

Malachi Austin is by now a household name in Guyana, especially to those in-tune with athletics. This position is only expected to get better over the next few years, as the 17-year-old national 400M champion takes up a full scholarship at Louisiana State University (LSU) in the USA.
Fully resolved to seize all opportunities to make all his track and field dreams come true, Austin recently told Guyana Times Sport about his initial visit to LSU, and of his appreciation for hard work paying off.
“I’m very excited to have this opportunity to go to LSU. I’m so happy that my hard work day in, day out: coming to the gym, going in the track with Coach Julian, everybody and them having my back every day, telling me that this will be a dream that will come true someday, and to see it happen now is great,” he disclosed.
“My visit, I was very elated to be there. Great facilities, great recovery stations, like the medical stations are great, the indoor track, everything. I’m so happy to go there,” he declared. “Feels very exciting! I actually got a chance to meet Mondo, Vernon and couple other athletes, and I felt welcomed. I had a talk with Vernon actually, and it was great,” Austin detailed about his LSU experience thus far.

The 17-year-old has shared with Guyana Times Sport some of his goals which he hopes the knowledge garnered at LSU can help him achieve. The first of those goals is to qualify for this year’s World Athletics Championships in September.
Austin has thus expressed, “I hope to achieve a lot. I hope to get a gold in the NCAA Championships, not only for my first year, but all four years. I also hope to go to the Olympics under the LSU name, and to run for Guyana; and I also would like to go to CARIFTA and defend my title.”
Delved deeper into how he intends to begin his journey on the big stage, the athlete has said, “So, I’m expecting to go to the Olympics in 2028. That’s my main goal. This year is World Championships, I’ve expressed to them that I want to go there; so, that’s my first goal. If I make that, you know, put in a little bit more work, see where my faults are at, and for sure I’ll get to the 2028 Olympics.”
LSU is an institution acclaimed the world over for having produced the Women’s 100M and Men’s Pole Vault World champions, Sha’carri Richardson and Mondo Duplantis. Austin discussed the pressure of heading to such a university, especially with young Guyanese athletes now looking up to him.
“There’s a bit of pressure, but I don’t let it get to me. I try to stay focused, try to stay motived and get the work done,” he explained.

Austin further elucidated, “To be the one that is doing all of this right now, especially at my age as a junior, it’s a bit of pressure. Because I know there’s a lot of young athletes in Guyana right now looking up to me and saying, ‘Yeah, I want to be like Malachi Austin’, but my advice to them is: stay focused, stay humble, always stay hungry; trust the process, your coaches; pray to God, and things will work out just fine.”
The Guyanese athlete has not forgotten his academics, expressing confidence that he would be able to balance it with track.
“I know to myself it’s going to be a bit hard. I’m going to have to make a lot of sacrifices, just as I’ve made them for CXC. But I’m prepared, I’m ready for whatever it is to come. I have my family backing me, coaches backing me, everyone in Guyana backing me; so, I know I’ll do great,” he confidently shared.
Aside from being the Guyana and CARIFTA 400M champion, Austin is also the holder of a silver medal at the Youth Commonwealth Games, and is also a crucial part of the 4x400M team that broke the Games record in 2023.
Outside of his family, Austin highlighted the likes of Coaches Julian Edmonds and Timothy and senior athlete Akeem Stewart as individuals who have provided guidance on his journey thus far.