The Meet of His Life
5/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 10, 2006
By Josh Fowler, Missouri Media Relations Student Assistant
Most decathletes can do ten things well, but Mizzou's Bjorn Sommerfeldt has a way of doing them one better.
When some decathletes get ready to compete, they'll listen to rap artists and rock musicians to pump themselves up. Unlike most athletes, Mizzou's Bjorn Sommerfeldt listens to himself.
Sommerfeldt isn't crazy and can't hear voices in his head. His ears are tuned to his headphones and rap music is crashing through the foam. But it's not Jay-Z or Kanye West, instead Bjorn Sommerfeldt is doing the rapping, and just as he's about to get ready, the chorus hits.
"It's the meet of my life,
It's been a long wait
I know it's real
I know it's great
It's not too early
It's not too late
I see it
I feel it
And I can relate."
Many people can relate to Sommerfeldt, who wrote the song entitled Meet of My Life, as an outlet for expression. The song allows him to visualize focus on his job as a decathlete.
"It's how I prepare myself mentally when I do decathlons." Sommerfeldt said. "It's personal, but I think people who listen to it can relate to the same things."
Sommerfeldt's initiation as a rapper didn't come from spending time in back alleys, bars, or clubs like something out of 8 Mile. Instead, Sommerfeldt received the motivation to rap and rhyme in the classroom from his teacher, coach, and mentor, Head Track Coach Rick McGuire. McGuire teaches courses at MU, but his classes aren't exactly filled with dodge balls. McGuire holds a Ph.D. in Sports Psychology from the University of Virginia.
"I wrote the lyrics for a class I had with Coach McGuire freshman year." Sommerfeldt said. "I had another class with him, and I asked him if I could make a song. I've been thinking about it for a while and it was a good opportunity just to do it."
As the sounds of opportunity blast out of iPods, members of the team at track meets are hearing the song, and Sommerfeldt is becoming more than just a decathlete. Fellow Mizzou track decathlete Sterling Hayden knows all about the meet and sees the song as inspirational.
"I listen to it every time before the meet." Hayden said. "DJ Bjorn throwin' it down, it gets me pumped up."
Music runs in the Sommerfeldt family. Bjorn's older brother Knut is an accomplished violinist. Bjorn has less classical roots.
"I play the guitar a little bit, but I've never been into music that much." Bjorn said. "I've always liked signing and rapping. I've been writing on the side but I've never been serious about it."
Something else runs in the Sommerfeldt family too, success in competition. Knut was a three-time Big 12 decathlon champion while attending Mizzou.
In his first three years at Mizzou, Bjorn has done his best to maintain the benchmark set by his brother. Bjorn has established himself as a three-time All-Big 12 performer, a qualifier in last year's national championship decathlon. Bjorn also has his eyes set on the calendar for the upcoming Big 12 Championships next weekend in Waco, Texas and, possibly again, the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
To get to the NCAA Championships, Sommerfeldt will have to take it one event at a time, grinding out victories and hustling 100 percent of the time. His song has helped him do that.
"You always have to take one event at a time and take it from there. If it goes well, you keep going and have a good feeling and if it goes crappy you have to put it behind you and move on." He said.
Moving on is what his single, Meet of My Life is all about. With raw beats and scintillating strings, Sommerfeldt raps about all ten events from the 100-meter dash to the pole vault, to the 1500-meter run.
Sommerfeldt says he doesn't have a rapping style, but his lyrics paint the perfect portrait of his pole-vaulting technique.
"It's as smooth as a dance, and I feel the desire:
To fly, go high, turn the spark into a fire."
Sommerfeldt isn't shy about his shot put performance either.
"I step into the ring, I'm powerful and strong
Firmly I glide, no, I can't go wrong.
Solid I land with pressure in my lungs,
I explode with my legs, it goes incredibly long."
All of the lyrics add up to Sommerfeldt's visual scheme for success.
With a style and voice that sounds like a cross between a European-techno artist and HBO's Ali G, Sommerfeldt is a powerful presence on the mic. His friend, Sphen G, an up and coming producer in Norway, laid down the beats and worked with the track star in the studio.
At the beginning of the song Sommerfeldt comes out to say, "We all have a goal in life...this is mine." As the season progresses Sommerfeldt should be crossing those goals off his checklist as he completes the meet of his life. Only time will tell if he can go back to the studio to turn out a successful career in the limelight as a musician. Regardless of whether or not he does, Sommerfeldt already has the charm of a superstar.
When asked by a local TV reporter if he had rhythm Sommerfeldt confidently replied, "Mmhmm, I got flow baby."
Hopefully, it will be his hustle, as well as his flow, that takes him to a championship level.
