U.S. Track Star, Who Is A Walmart Deli Worker, Is Now A Top Hurdler

When Dylan Beard’s final season of college eligibility was up and his professional track and field dream was still alive, he called on an Angel.

His Aunt Angel, to be specific.

It was right around a year and a half ago, when the Maryland native had found a coach in North Carolina but was without a steady place to stay, that Beard turned to his aunt in Wake Forest, who decades earlier had lived just two blocks from his house as a child in Maryland.

Today, he says, that lifeline may have been the difference between a regular life and one as a professional athlete.

“She took me in with open arms, even though she didn’t understand it,” said Beard, who will compete at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix on Sunday in Japan. “That was the big thing. She asked, ‘OK, what are we trying to do? I’m here. Let’s get after it.’

“If I hadn’t been able to stay with her,” he continued, “we wouldn’t be talking right now.”

Beard’s story of perseverance is well known. The two-time Millrose Games indoor 60 meter hurdles champion worked the deli counter at Wal-Mart – during his stay in North Carolina – before his big break. But maybe even that is selling him short.

He’s currently ranked eighth in the world at the 110 meter hurdle distance with a time of 13.21, and in April he finished second in the men’s short hurdles category during the inaugural Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston, Jamaica, winning $50,000 for his efforts.

While the 26-year-old Beard hasn’t yet qualified for a U.S. Olympic or World Championship team, the former HBCU hurdler from Howard University has transformed into one of the nation’s best. And he’s done so in near anonymity.

His time may be coming soon.

“Little old me, coming into the meet,” said Beard, who now lives in Atlanta, Georgia and trains under Nat Page, “I used to just be happy to be here. Now I feel like I have a place and my foot in the ground next to these guys.”

Making The Jump From Collegiate Hurdler To Pro

Beard is no household name yet, but to be fair, his start to professional track and field began later than most.

After finding his way to Howard University – which included a gap year in 2021 – following stops at Wagner and Hampton, he finished his college eligibility with the Bison in 2023. Training under Olympic medalist and former World Champion hurdler David Oliver certainly had its advantages, but almost no one knew who Beard was when he stepped to the line of the Millrose Games in February of 2024 and broke a facility record.

For almost a year starting out on the professional circuit, Beard lived with his aunt in Wake Forest, commuting to Raleigh on a daily basis to train. With limited financial support, he often found himself working at Walmart, and then navigating logistical hurdles.

“My first meet, I drove four hours to Blacksburg, Virginia,” Beard said of the Hokie Invitational last year. “It was in a near snow storm.”

Beard quickly learned what kind of barriers exist for athletes operating on the fringes of a professional contract. Finding a coach was difficult at first. Then, “I allowed some wear and tear on my body,” he said. “I also did not realize how difficult it was to travel.”

Fortunately, his persistence paid off. Qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in June, Beard ran a time of 13.19 seconds in the 110 meter hurdles – which was his second-best effort on the year and among two performances under 13.20, which put him at No. 12 in the world by season’s end – and moved on. Unfortunately, his 2024 dreams would end there, as he bowed out in the semifinals.

Still, Beard’s moment in the sun had a shelf life. Behind a small sponsorship from Walmart, he traveled to Paris and Hungary in July, competing internationally for the first time. Those luxuries weren’t lost on him.

“For me personally, the idea was never to be sponsored by Wal-Mart,” he said. “I just had to make ends meet.”

Dylan Beard Pushes Forward With A Dream

Beard’s ambitions furthered this fall when a larger sponsorship was finalized by Sam’s Club – the company is owned by Walmart but operates independently – allowing the 26-year-old to train full-time and compete throughout the season. While Beard couldn’t disclose the financials of his sponsorship deal, he said the company is “investing in me, partnering with me” and is working with him to realize his hopes.

Beard still works in the seasonal department of Walmart part time – in Georgia now – though he says his full focus is on the track. Maybe one day, he says, he could “work on the corporate side of Walmart. I’m open-minded to that.”

At the first Grand Slam Track meet, on a line that saw his competitors littered with Nike and Adidas jerseys, Beard beamed in bright blue, the Sam’s Club logo etched in the top right corner of his top.

“I like the idea of my kit being a 1-of-1,” Beard said.

Beard hasn’t thought much deeper on the non-traditional path he’s clearing ahead for athletes in the future. But there’s no doubt the partnership with a non-linear sponsor could be the way of the future for track and field athletes.

“My story is a little different from everyone else,” Beard said, “But I’m still on the line and competing against these guys.”

In the meantime, he has his nose to the ground.

“Right now, I’m just really grinding on the track,” Beard said. “I started my pro career at 25 years old. I’m trying to get my best years out of this. Hopefully I can get another seven to eight years out of this.”

Success Has Already Found Dylan Beard

That first Grand Slam Track meet was, in many ways, Beard’s breakout. Running nearly flawlessly through the line in that 110 meter hurdle race in Kingston, he stopped the clock at 13.29 seconds, winning by five-hundredths of a second.

When he followed a day later with a time of 10.67 at 100 meters, earning a third-place performance and securing his second-place finish in the category, it was a nice little bow on his two-day efforts. His $50,000 prize winnings was the most he had ever won in a competition – and $46,000 more than his biggest haul previously at the Millrose Games in 2025.

But importantly, Beard said, he did not run the flat distance outside his comfort zone, knowing any adjustments could throw off his 110 meter timing.

“I wasn’t really focused on the 100,” Beard said. “My coach and I talked about it and I was going to keep the same stride frequency. We didn’t want to open up or anything.”

After three days, another important matter beckoned. Would he be back for round two in Miami? Within the Grand Slam Track ecosystem, only “racers” were afforded guaranteed spots on the line over all four events in Kingston, Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Knowing an excellent effort went a long way in securing a future lane, Beard tapped his agent Keith Rucker on the shoulder. “I said, ‘Hey, we’re here,’” Beard said. “‘Ask them if we can come back.’”

Beard ultimately didn’t know that he’d be back on the line until receiving a phone call weeks later – in Miami, he finished sixth, winning another $15,000. In total, Beard has secured $73,250 in prize money over the 2025 season.

That being said, the hurdler has made his own path this season, too. Since December, he’s competed across four states and five countries, including World Athletics Indoor Tour events in Poland, Kazakhstan and Spain.. He has raced 22 times in 2025 alone. His next meet in Japan on Sunday will be his sixth stop in another country.

“I’ve gone over it with my coach many times,” Beard said. “And he’s just like, ‘Hey, if you want to run, we’re going to run.’ I’m all about running. I’m all about competing.”

Progress has taken the form of success.

Beard reached his first U.S. final in February, finishing sixth in the men’s 60 meter hurdles. But in time, to realize his hopes of competing against the best in the world, he’ll have to chase after a performance under 13 seconds for the 110 meter hurdles. A total of 16 Americans have gone under that threshold all-time, while 26 have done it globally.

Beard’s personal best time of 13.10 seconds ranks 29th all-time in the U.S.

“Right now, I’m in the space of getting my foot in the door,” Beard said. “I haven’t made any teams. I haven’t won any medals. I’m still building up. I’m still learning within the sport. The goal is to be competitive, to beat these guys. But there’s still a lot to process ahead.”

Building a reputation, Beard says, will take time. But once that happens, things might start to fall in place.

“I’m a guy who’s like, if they see me in a race, I want them to think, ‘If I don’t lock in real quick, he might whoop my ass on the track,’” Beard said. “That’s where I’m trying to build. That’s one of those things that’s not given. I have to earn it for myself.”