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ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥â€™s Emma Gates wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, either. She had placed third in the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships high jump on Aug. 1, tying her personal best of 6-3¼, but suspected before making the team weeks later that it still might not be enough.

“I was a little bit confused by the points system,� Gates said.

Veteran UA jumps coach Bob Myers said he initially thought Gates would just miss it because of her standing in points, so maybe it was time to move on.

Gates started heavier fall training work at UA, and had a natural distraction to keep her thinking too much about Team USA qualifying: The rough academic load she signed up for this fall upon deciding she would pursue an accelerated master's program toward a UA degree in MIS.

“I knew the deadline, the last minute that they could tell me that I was selected,� Gates said. “So a little part of me was like, 'Well, they still might call, they still might let me know.' But I was not really getting my hopes up. I was mostly just getting ready to focus on school.�

That focus lasted until Aug. 30, in the hours before the UA football team opened against Hawaii. Gates said she was studying at home when Team USA actually did message her with the good news.

“I immediately called my mom and Bob, and was like 'Guys, I'm going, I can't believe it,'" Gates said. “Ever since then, it's just felt kind of like a blur. I almost didn't believe it when they sent me that message, but I'm super, super excited.�

Gates made it in part because she ranked No. 36 in the world and, Myers said, because she beat a jumper who had more overall points than she did.

“I guess within USA Track and Field there was a little bit of leeway,� Myers said. “That was an exciting phone call I got (from Gates) when I was at the Hawaii game.�

Having recruited Gates since her junior season of high school outside of Salem, Oregon, Myers could see it coming, just maybe not this soon. Gates is only 21, a senior academically who redshirted outdoors last season, but she became a first-team all-American during the indoor season, finishing second at the Big 12 championships with a jump of 6-2.75.

Then she cleared another half-inch at the USA Outdoor Championships, improving over 3 inches from the mark she cleared while finishing 10th in Olympic qualifying last year.

“She's extremely dedicated and disciplined, and as a high jumper, you not only have to be technically a very good athlete, but it's a whole lifestyle that really enables the top jumpers to jump high,� said Myers, who will travel to coach Gates at the Championships that will start in Japan this weekend. “It’s the sleep habits, the fueling and nutrition that is so critical, because the top high jumpers are very powerful but also very lean.

“She's been so disciplined doing those extra little things that it’s really made a difference the last few years.�

The innate desire to jump was never a problem. Growing up just an hour north of Oregon’s legendary Hayward Field, Gates played volleyball and ran track, but something about being airborne tugged at her early in life.

Too early, in fact. Gates said USA Track and Field rules wouldn’t let her jump until age 9, even though she wanted to not long after starting track at age 7.

“I started off doing cross country, and when I got to track, I was doing every event,� Gates said. “I was an 8-year-old and I wanted to do everything.

“I remember at practice, I saw some older girls doing high jump, and I was telling my mom, 'Oh, my goodness, I want to do that so bad.' I don't know why. I don't think I was exceptionally great. In my first few meets, I think I was jumping maybe 3-2. But I always thought it was a lot of fun, so I just kept doing it.�

Gates went on to become a three-time Oregon female high school track and field athlete of the year, then kept rising at UA, winning the 2024 Pac-12 high jump with a clearance of 6-2. Last season, in addition to becoming an indoor all-American, she found competing unattached outdoors while redshirting gave her another boost.

“It took a lot of the pressure off," Gates said. “I got to have fun and work on my technique with Bob, to train through it more. I think that actually let me be more consistent, and led to a couple more PRs (personal records). I was also coming off a pretty high point of indoor.�

While Gates said competing on the familiar turf of Oregon’s Hayward Field for the USA Track and Field Championships helped, she also picked up some high-level international experience competing at a Diamond League event in Poland later last month.

Still unsure if she would make the worlds, Gates returned afterward to UA to begin the heavier fall training regimen and dig into her fall semester classes.

Only one of those two things changed after that fateful message from Team USA. Gates dropped the fall training, saying she’s now working on strength with plans to taper off before the World Championship high jump competition begins on Sept. 18.

But the accelerated coursework will go with her.

“It's definitely a little bit of a heavier load and harder classes, but I'm managing it, making it work,� Gates said. “I'll bring my computer with me to Tokyo."