Photgraph by Andrew Doench
Many days, Conner Sherman wakes up at 4 a.m. He lifts weights, then heads to Princeton High School, where he’s a sophomore honor roll student. When school lets out, Sherman’s father drives him 90 minutes to Capital University in Columbus, where he’ll train in a specialized program for two hours. He gets home around 10:30 p.m.
This is the life of an Olympic-bound teenage track athlete. “It’s all worth it for me,” says Sherman, a young man with deep faith and big dreams. “I’ve always just loved running.”
In 2022, Sherman won silver and bronze recognitions at the AAU Junior Olympics Games in North Carolina, attracting the pride of his Springfield Township hometown, which declared Tuesday, August 9, 2022, as Conner Sherman Day.
In March 2025, at the Adidas Track Nationals in Virginia Beach, Sherman not only won the 60-meter dash in the freshman division—he tied the meet record. The elite annual meet attracts entrants from all over the country and requires competitive qualifying times to enter.
Astoundingly, Sherman has been running competitively for only four years. But the instinct to move fast was always there. As a young child, he loved the superhero The Flash, and he would race the cars that drove past his home.
This spring, Sherman will run the 60-meter and 200-meter races for Princeton against runners sometimes two years his senior. He’ll also likely participate in 4×100, 4×200, and 4×400 relays. Sherman seeks to win state this year, as well as qualify for the Junior Olympic Games in Des Moines, Iowa, in the summer—his gold medal placement in the event in 2024 deemed him the fastest athlete in his age group across the U.S.
Beyond that, he hopes to run for an elite college in a few years as well as represent his country in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. But when asked how he defines athletic greatness, Sherman doesn’t mention medals, money, or fame. Instead, he says, “You’ve got to have dedication, and just stay positive and stay humble.”
At just 16 years old, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy he’s already mastered.
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