Long Island racewalking star sets sight on Olympic glory

Most 27-year-old math teachers don’t have a shot at Olympic dreams — but that isn’t the case for Long Island’s Lauren Harris, whose chance at glory is a long time coming after years of reluctance.The incredible racewalker — she’s ranked 34th worldwide and holds several American records for distances as long as a half marathon and as short as a 5K — is putting herself on the fast track as a hopeful for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles ahead of qualifiers in December.“That’s the ultimate goal,” the educator at Center Moriches High School told The Post.“I keep saying: I’m all in for these Olympics and trying to make it.”The Sachem East-turned-Marist track star’s attitude is a far cry from where she was post-college, with one foot out the door from ever competing again.“I just wasn’t mature enough yet, I think, to fully commit myself to the sport,” she said.Harris’ noncommittal streak spans back to high school, when she got busted skipping track practice to watch a basketball game with friends.

The only thing that saved her from being tossed off the team was reading a letter of apology to her fellow runners and coaches aloud.Though Harris didn’t take racewalking as seriously as she should have at times, local two-time Olympian Maria Michta-Coffey, the wife of her coach Joseph Coffey, saw the undeniable skills.“She really had quite a bit of talent as a high schooler,” said Michta-Coffey, a physician assistant at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore.It was still pulling teeth to get Harris to reach her full potential after college, as she would flake on Michta-Coffey, who was more than willing to train a next-generation protégé.“The level of like, ‘I’m tired, I’m sleeping in, I’m not going to meet you for practice today,’ ” Michta-Coffey recalled.“Or, like, ‘Oops, sorry, this didn’t work out, or I’m hanging out with people tonight, so it’s not going to work out tomorrow.’ ”Harris ended up t...