Di’Mond Does It All

What a great time to be on the Greenville University Track & Field team. Here is an exclusive interview with former GU basketball player Di’Mond Salmond, who is new to track and field. This is only his second year running! Salmond is a sophomore from Fairview Heights, Illinois and attended Althoff Catholic High School.

Salmond likes to live by the unique quote, “Cappin’.” He defined the term as, “lying or tripping.” He often says to “quit cappin’,” and to get on your grind. If there is something you want to do in life, don’t quit or give up— don’t let anything stand in your way and just get it done.

Salmond competed in basically every sport you can think of growing up and in high school, aside from track. He played soccer, football, and basketball, amongst others. He is very explosive and has mentioned his interest in playing football for the Panthers. In high school, he played both defensive back and corner. If he does try to play football again, he wants to remain a corner and also have the ball in his hands on the offensive side of the game.

Salmond has always been a fast kid, but just never ran track until his freshman year of college here at Greenville. He had never even thought of joining the track team, but the jump coach told him to come and see if he could touch the backboard. If he could do so, then he wanted Salmond to be a jumper.

Salmond is gifted with an amazing vertical for his height. He can explode higher than most basketball players that are much taller. When becoming a jumper, he also decided to sprint for the team. His circumstance is one of the most unique ways to be recruited into a college sport, but Salmond has been going strong on the track ever since.

Salmond is motivated to continue running track because he is still getting better every day. Day in and day out, he goes to practice and does a variety of workouts to keep improving. Salmond explained that his motivation comes from a promise he made to his mother. When he joined the track team last year, he promised her that he would not give up and since then, he has improved drastically.

He competes in the long jump, triple jump, 60-meter dash, 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and relays. He did very well at the NCCAA Indoor Championship Meet recently, placing second in the 4×200-meter relay and fourth in triple jump.

Salmond says, “I am someone that always tries to make other peoples days go better.” Every time you see him you can expect a smile and cracking jokes, trying to make friends laugh. He is one of those people you should always keep around you when you’re feeling down because you can count on him to brighten your mood. Salmond is one of the happiest guys on campus but knows when it is time to be serious and always works hard.

Good luck to Salmond and the rest of the Panthers during this year’s track season!