People that inspire me - Einars Tupuritis

There are 44 weeks left in the year and once a week I will write about someone in my life that is inspiring or motivating to me.  Hopefully others will read it and gain a little bit of inspiration in their life as well.  There is no particular order to these writings, just a bunch of people I am fortunate enough to know.  So without further ado ….

Inspirational person #7 of 50 – Einars Tupuritis

For those of you who don’t know, Einars Tupuritis is one of the greatest athletes in the history of Wichita State.  He was a two-time NCAA champion in the 800 meters, the NCAA meet record holder in the 800 meters and a 1996 Olympian for his home country of Latvia.  His PR in the 800m is 1:43!

I was in college when Einars was running and I vaguely remember seeing him win the 1996 NCAA title in Indianapolis (this is way before YouTube was a thing) but his famous picture at the finish line was one of the most memorable moments in NCAA history.  The look of excitement on his face said it all – NCAA Champion and NCAA record holder!  This photo now adorns the North end of our stadium and stands about 20 feet high!  Thousands of athletes who run in Cessna Stadium every year get inspiration from seeing Einars’ famous picture on the final curve.

So yeah, Einars is pretty much a stud.  He’s literally the poster child for WSU Track & Field.

Now he lives and works in New York and makes a yearly visit to Wichita State to either the KT Woodman Classic or MVC Championship meets.  And it is has been those times where I’ve gotten to know him and understand a little about what made him so successful.

More about him down below but first …

I asked Einars five questions, here are his responses …

Question 1:  If your life was a movie, what would the title be and who would play you?
Einars:  Climbing to the Top ...... maybe Vin Diesel but I would prefer to play myself!

Question 2:  Where is the best place you have ever traveled and why?
Einars:  I have traveled to many places and they are all the best to me. To pick just one would be impossible. Every place has its own unique atmosphere in regards to the culture and scenery and you don't have to look hard to find it.

Question 3:  What advice would you give the 15 year old version of yourself?
Einars:  You need to set a goal and continuously work toward achieving it even if it seems unreachable. In any situation you need to love what you are doing and enjoy the time spent there and the success that follows will be that much sweeter and you will appreciate it more. Don't allow roadblocks or obstacles to get you down for long. 

Question 4:  How do you manage stressful situations so well?

Einars:  Managing stress is a learning process and comes from experiences. Having a good support system around you and asking for help when needed is a good foundation for dealing with stress. Personally for me, jogging relives the most stress by clearing my head and keeping me grounded. Everyone has to find their own stress relief, which can be in any shape or form.

Question 5:  Who/what inspires you?

Einars:  Billy Mills wrote "follow your dreams" to me in my running journal and that was very meaningful to me. Also, my daily life inspires me to be continuously improving myself and striving to be a better-rounded and better human being. 

Final thoughts … Why is Einars Tupuritis inspirational to me?

Any Olympic athlete or national champion like Einars should be inspirational to most people but knowing how hard he worked for his accomplishments is even more impressive.

Einars was a good athlete in Latvia before he came to the United States, but by no means did anyone think he was going to become the fastest 800m runner in NCAA history.  As a freshman he was a solid contributor to the Shockers at the MVC level and only three years later was he on to the national and then international stage.

He put Wichita State on the map in Latvia (as well as Europe) and ever since he got here there have been Latvian athletes continue to make WSU their choice for track and field.  Current MVC Champion Ugis Jocis is just the latest countryman to make Wichita home.  All of these athletes who come from Latvia know who he is and come here to follow in his footsteps.  It’s a special connection between WSU T&F and Latvia and we have Einars to thank.

And even though his is one of the most famous and certainly most successful athletes in WSU history, you would never know it by meeting him.  He always seems to love taking a week out of his year to visit Wichita and the friends he made while on the team.  And I feel very lucky to have started a friendship with him because he is certainly a quality person who is very giving and unselfish with his time.

Thank you Einars for all you have done to promote Wichita State Track & Field from your time on the team to your time as an alum and thank you also for being a great friend.  Coach Wilson and I will make it out to New York sometime soon to hang out!