Getting the chance to represent your country internationally at a young age is invaluable. Even if it means running with one shoe missing, as 18-year-old Team USA runner Tyler Daillak can now attest to.

At the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Daillak lost a shoe during the race but kept running with just one shoe on. And with that tenacious performance, he helped Team USA secure the bronze medal in the men’s U20 team event. Now, he’s shared the story of how that shoe came off.

On January 10, 2026, Cal Poly’s Tyler Daillak lined up with his teammates to compete against a stacked international field, including Kenya and Uganda, known for their depth in cross country. But about halfway through the race during the second lap, Daillak’s right shoe came off.

Speaking to FloTrack, he explained, “I lost it in the mud on the second lap. I was coming around at the end of lap two, and I stepped in the mud, and my shoe got untied in the water at the first lap. I stepped, and then the tracker came off… Both of those came off in the water cuz they got all wet, and they got off in the water.”

“And I’m like, ‘uh-oh!’ So, I tried to keep it on, and I was able to keep it on through the mud on the first time, and then the second time around I was just trying to keep my shoe on the whole time.”

Despite running with one foot unprotected and dealing with mud and gravel, Daillak kept his focus. He recalled that his attention was on the runner ahead, saying:

“It was an Australian guy in front of me. I was so focused on him and just kind of turned my brain off and stuck with him that I wasn’t even focused on it (missing shoe).”

At the same time, running with one shoe did cause some discomfort. A sharp piece of gravel punctured the bottom of his foot, forcing him to run injured, which is why he wore a bandage afterward.

As Daillak explained, “It kind of hurt a bit… if anything, it masked the pain of the running, the cardiovascular aspect of it cuz I was more focused on that and the adrenaline of it. I didn’t notice it till I was done.”

Even without a shoe, Daillak crossed the finish line 16th overall with a time of 24:46, making him the top American in the race. His strong placement was critical because cross-country team scoring totals the positions of a nation’s top runners.

Along with Jackson Spencer (18th), Daniel Skandera (19th), and Aidan Torres (22nd), Daillak’s effort helped Team USA score 75 points and secure the bronze medal behind Kenya and Uganda in the U20 Team USA standings.

But this wasn’t the first time Tyler Daillak had to race with a missing shoe.

Coach’s advice helped guide Tyler Daillak to Team USA Bronze

The 18-year-old Team USA runner had faced a similar challenge in high school, losing a shoe at the very start of a 1600-meter race and running the entire distance with just one. Looking back on that experience, Tyler Daillak remembered the guidance his coach gave him:

“Expect a good result, but plan for the worst. Like, mentally be prepared. Envision the race before going, like, bad, but you want to stay calm in that. You want to be prepared for that. You want to be prepared,” said Daillak. “Things aren’t going to go your way. And things are going to go wrong in the race. But you want to stay mentally prepared for that. You want to be ready for that.”

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That advice has stuck with him and has guided him throughout his running career.

When he was just 10, he completed the 2017 City to Sea 5K in 19:42, taking first place in the under-18 category and finishing sixth overall out of 400 runners.

Even in high school at Paso Robles, he became a Mountain League cross-country and CIF Central Section champion and took home a personal best in winning the 5km at the Clovis International Boys Race in October 2024.

By 2025, he was competing at the higher level while attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. After running shoeless and then leading Team USA to bronze at the world stage, Tyler Daillak proves that preparation, focus, and resilience will get you through anything. And sometimes, one shoe is all you need to make your mark.