CJ Allen: From a chiropractor to an Olympic athlete

“My dad was always a big track guy. And so, I attempted to follow in his footsteps,” said Allen, now a local resident. “It was just a kind of fall in line with the old man type.”

He became a hurdler early on for one reason.

“Hurdles just kind of stuck because I’ve always been able to jump over the highest setting,” Allen said. “And so, as a kid, it had nothing to do with technique or anything. It was just about who could clear the tallest heights, and I was the only person who could, so I stuck with it.”

The 400m hurdles competition runs through Friday.

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Allen has called the metro Atlanta area home for the past five years. His time spent in Atlanta was directed at pursuing his Doctor of Chiropractor degree from Life University in Marietta where he graduated in September 2023.

“Obviously the weather is much better with tons of farmland and trees,” Allen said of his new surroundings. “The rural developments are very similar to what I’m used to back in Washington.”

Allen came across chiropractic work after having pursued undergraduate degrees in kinesiology and psychology at Washington State and later briefly working in physical therapy. He credits his trainers and physicians for opening his eyes to this new field – a field that he sees himself doing full-time the rest of his life.

In chiropractor school, Allen worked as a graduate assistant in track and field while he continued his training as a hurdler. The aftermath of his time at Life University has been working in concierge chiropractic, essentially helping people whenever and wherever.

Meanwhile, he’s working on signing a lease with his business partner to get a clinic up and running somewhere near the Buckhead or Brookhaven areas.

“We spent four years becoming doctors of chiropractors, not doctors of running a chiropractic business,” Allen said. “So, it’s been a learning curve for us, and we’ve taken many steps that we need to be successful. We don’t want to rush in anything, but we’re looking to take off as soon as a ball hits.”

The 29-year-old Allen graduated from Washington State in 2017. He finished second in the 400m hurdles at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene with a time of 47.81 to qualify for Paris. He also holds the American record for the 400-meter hurdles indoors at 48.88.

“You don’t run track and field with the hopes of not eventually making the Olympics if you care about the sport and this is the pinnacle of what we do,” Allen said.

Allen even allowed himself to think about winning.

“It’s like when you climb mountains there’s multiple peaks, and there’s multiple accomplishments that you can get done,” Allen said. “Making the Olympic team is obviously one of those peaks, getting a medal as another peak, getting a gold medal is up there with a world record. When you’re an Olympic gold medalist, you’re that forever. You write your name down in history. So that’s the top of the mountain.”

Allen proudly said what it meant to represent Atlanta and the United States in this year’s Olympics, calling it one of the hardest teams to make given the country’s immense pool of talent.

“There’s no other challenge or obstacle that I would rather overcome than to represent the U.S., especially for me just being a small-town kid,” he said.

Over nearly two decades working on his craft, Allen gives gratitude to his parents, brother and girlfriend who’ve been supportive along his journey. He also shouts out his college coach Wayne Fitz at Washington State who he’s known for 10 years. Allen will be accompanied by his family, friends, coaches and his team at ASICS for at the Olympics.

“I just want everybody that’s in my corner to be happy and celebrate with me, and I’ll leave the celebrations to them because I know there’s more work to be done,” he said.