Sofie Abildtrup is quickly becoming one of Oregon’s most recognizable athletes.
The 23-year-old’s popularity soared after her performance at the Pepsi Team Invitational two weeks ago, when she pulled a hat trick of victories in the 200, 400 and as the anchor of the 4×400 relay team. However, the Ducks will compete without her at the Oregon Invitational meet at Hayward Field today because she’s getting physically tired and has decided to wait for the Pacific-10 Conference Championships in May.
People started recognizing the native of Frederiksberg, Denmark, immediately following the Pepsi Invite as one of the Ducks’ best sprinters this year, despite this season being her first and most likely last one in Eugene.
“I think it’s just great that people acknowledge what I do,” Abildtrup said. “People are a little bit more private in Denmark.”
One of those encounters occurred recently when she was grocery shopping alone at the PC Market of Choice on Franklin Boulevard near the Oregon campus. While browsing through the store, a man, who Abildtrup estimated was in his 50s, approached to introduce himself.
“He told me, ‘I just wanted to welcome you to Oregon and I think you did a really good job,’” Abildtrup said.
Abildtrup, though, detects one common characteristic among most of the people who approach her.
“It’s kind of funny because I’ve been stopped a couple times after that meet and it’s almost always men in their 50s,” she said jokingly.
Her teammates laugh off those incidents, since they know the type of person Abildtrup is; she’s considered one of the nicest people on the team.
“She’s a sweetheart,” teammate and sprinter Michelle Donovan said. “She’s just got a very cute sense of humor and is very energetic and polite. She’s very good with talking to new people and she’s just great with everyone.”
Back on the track, her talents are no laughing matter.
Abildtrup’s track career began almost 12 years ago in Denmark when some of her friends were working out and encouraged her to give it a try.
“I thought it was fun,” Abildtrup said. “We had a good group of girls for a couple of years for the club I competed for.”
In 1996, she realized her potential as a runner after a track meet in Portugal. She remembers finishing fourth in a 400-meter race which included the top junior athletes from all over Europe.
“I was caught in the finish line, and after that I started getting serious about it,” Abildtrup said.
Three years later, she decided to take a year off from running to concentrate on her studies. Abildtrup questioned whether she would ever return to the track, but the hunger resurfaced. She resumed her training and found it to be a difficult process.

“It was somehow kind of hard to run the times when I was 16 again,” Abildtrup said. “But on the other hand, I knew I would be able to get back.” In the fall of last year, Abildtrup arrived to Eugene to spend time with her boyfriend, former Oregon pole-vaulter Piotr Buciarski. She presented the coaches with her times, and the next thing she knew, she had a scholarship waiting for her.
Abildtrup now ranks among the best sprinters in Oregon history. Her time of 54.49 seconds in the 400 at the Pepsi Invite moved her into ninth all-time. This past Sunday, Abildtrup ran the 200 in 23.93 seconds at the Mt. SAC Relays to place her seventh all-time. Abildtrup was also named Pacific-10 Conference Women’s Track Athlete of the Week one week ago.
Her impact is being felt throughout the whole team.
“It was very uplifting knowing that we could compete in the Pac-10 with her, and that one person can make a difference,” Donovan said.
First-year women’s sprints coach Rock Light also acknowledges Abildtrup’s effect on the team this year. Light said he is impressed with the way she has handled herself as an athlete and as a person.
“She’s had a huge impact on the team,” Light said. “Her ability, her leadership — she motivates the entire team. She’s as pleasant and grounded an athlete that I’ve ever coached in my life and that I’ve coached at her age.”
The positive feelings between the two are mutual, as Abildtrup credits her individual coach as a huge inspiration. Both also have had to adjust to their first full season at Oregon.
“He has a mentality that makes us feel that we can really get much better,” Abildtrup said. “He really believes in us and I think that’s really important.”
But the chances to see Abildtrup compete at Oregon are dwindling as each day passes. Her plan after this year is to return home to Denmark, where she wants to continue studying architecture.
“I decided to take a year off because I wanted to focus a bit more on track and I felt like traveling a bit,” Abildtrup said. “Everything worked and I had the ability to come here.
“The thing is, if I want to go back and continue school in Copenhagen, I can’t really take more than a year off. So that’s the main reason for going back,” she said.
With the Pac-10 Championships coming up in three weeks and the school year winding down, Abildtrup will reflect on her Oregon track experience with positive feelings.
“The students here are really into sports and they feel like they’re a part of the team and I think that’s great,” Abildtrup said.
While she will always appreciate the opportunity to compete at legendary Hayward Field, her desire to become an architect is what drives her.
“Track is something that’s a part of your life for a short period, and you have to take advantage of it when you have the ability to do it,” Abildtrup said. “But at the same time, my education is what’s going to affect my life in the future and I’ve always focused my time on doing good in school.”