From the LBSU track to Olympic ice, bobsledder Azaria Hill hits new speed

"Make 'em say your name."

The words echo inside the mind of Olympian Azaria Hill '20. Since the days of running her heart out on a Long Beach State track or those of speeding down an icy bobsled run, her former coach's motto reverberates within Hill's mental soundscape.

"My time at Long Beach, good times, bad times, whether I won or whether didn't win, those definitely helped shape me to be resilient and determined and have that grit," Hill said. "Now, finally having made an Olympic team and competing at the Olympics, there was just that motto that she had that still rang in my head: 'Make 'em say your name.'"

Hill, who recently returned to the United States from competition at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, is a sprinter-turned-bobsledder. She and teammate Kaysha Love advanced to the final heat of the two-woman bobsled event, claiming fifth place.

Previously, Hill spent three seasons with Long Beach State's track and field team. She helped claim LBSU's first Big West conference title in women's track and field in 2018 and still holds a share of the school record in the 4x100 relay.

"Each relay, each anchor leg, she got better, and better and better," said Track and Field Director LaTanya Sheffield, whose motto still motivates Hill. "In major competition, she was never afraid."

Olympic aspirations

Hill comes from a family with an exceptional athletic tradition. Both of her parents, boxer Virgil Hill Sr. and runner Denean Howard-Hill, are Olympic medalists. The same is true of Hill's aunt, runner Sherri Howard.

Growing up in Santa Clarita, Hill decorated her bedroom with pictures of world-class athletes, including her mother and aunt. Unbeknownst to her at the time, her future Long Beach State coach also appeared on her wall; a coincidence made possible by Sheffield and Howard-Hill both competing in the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul.

"I remember taking my visit to Long Beach State and meeting Coach Sheffield," Hill said. "She had so much energy, it just changed the atmosphere, the aura, the everything. I was like, 'Yeah, this is definitely where I want to make home.' Also, the fact that she competed with my mom in the Olympics and knew my mom, it just felt like home away from home."

Sheffield quickly recognized Hill's potential.

"We always knew this was what her plan was," Sheffield said. "To be an Olympian. Period."

Sheffield herself was the head coach for the U.S. women's track and field team during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Hill's Long Beach State career began in 2017. She competed in sprints and relays while earning a bachelor's degree in kinesiology. Hill earned Academic All-Conference honors from the Big West in 2019 and 2020 and looks back on her studies as a major asset.

I remember taking my visit to Long Beach State and meeting Coach Sheffield. She had so much energy, it just changed the atmosphere, the aura, the everything. I was like, 'Yeah, this is definitely where I want to make home.' Also, the fact that she competed with my mom in the Olympics and knew my mom, it just felt like home away from home.

"The academic aspect of Long Beach State University has benefited me tenfold," Hill said. "It's helped me in knowing more about the body and knowing more about the mental aspect of what I do as an athlete in recovering and rest."

COVID-19 prevented Hill from running for Long Beach State in 2020. She spent 2021 at University of Nevada Las Vegas, where she met her bobsledding teammate, before switching from track to bobsled.

Looking ahead

Long Beach State has a proud record of athletes and coaches going to the Olympics, although summertime competitors outnumber those who play in the snow and ice. Hill is the fourth Beach athlete to go to the Winter Games. Figure skaters Kenneth Shelley and JoJo Starbuck went to the Olympics in 1968 and 1972, and Karlos Kirby, another bobsledder, went in 1992 and 1994.

Hill plans to continue bobsledding, and her current focus is training to pilot the sleds while serving in the Army World Class Athlete program. Longer term, she is interested in starting a business focused on helping athletes prevent and recover from injuries.

She is also thinking about future travel. Ideally to the French Alps in 2030.

"I'm looking to do another quad and try to make that 2030 Olympic team and hopefully come back with some hardware," Hill said.