Getting to Know Isabella Marten

USC redshirt senior jumper Isabella Marten had taken a long path to USC, but is glad she has found a home with the Trojan Track & Field program. Marten is an All-America triple jumper from Germany, who began her career at SMU and California, before transferring to USC. We had a chance to catch up with her after she placed second in the triple jump at the MPSF Indoor Championships, helping the Trojans to the team title.

Q - What led you to become interested in Track & Field?

I.M. - I started track when I was six years old, which is fairly early usually people don't really start until they are in high school. But, in Germany, it is separate from school, so I started on a club team. My older sister was already in track and she was really successful, she is seven years older than me and I just wanted to follow in her footsteps.

Q - When did you move from Germany to America?

I.M. - I moved from Germany to Dallas, Texas when I was a freshman. I went to Southern Methodist University (SMU) because I was offered a full ride track and field scholarship. Then, I transferred as a sophomore to UC Berkeley because of better academics and track, graduated from there in 2018 with a degree in Media Studies and then I came here. I had one year of athletic eligibility left because I was injured during my junior year so, I received a full year in return to now compete as a master's student.

Q - What has it been like competing at three different universities?

I.M. - So, I competed at three different D1 universities, Cal was in the same conference as USC but SMU was not. What I realized was the big difference between public and private schools, at Cal, since it was a public school there was not as much hand-holding there. For example, athletes often times when they are accepted in a private school they get a lot of babysitting. At Cal, I was kind of thrown into cold water I didn't really have anyone holding me accountable to tutoring or things like that. So, that has been the biggest difference between the private schools (USC and SMU) and the public school (Cal).

Q - What do you miss about either of your previous universities?

I.M. - What I do miss about Cal is the student-athlete career development focus they had, like sending student-athletes out as ambassadors to get to know other student-athletes. It would be cool to see more of that here at USC so that we could try to work on common issues like the fact that student-athletes often lack the opportunity for jobs and internships because they are always busy training.

Q - What has competing with USC been like so far?

I.M. - Good, I actually was injured following my first meet of the indoor season in New Mexico about a month ago. I slightly pulled my hamstring so I was unable to go to any of the other meets but I recovered just in time for the indoor conference championships and I did fine, I got second place. I am only disappointed because I didn't qualify for indoor nationals but otherwise it was good coming off the injury and placing second, that's pretty decent. It was also really exciting to win the conference title as a team and being a part of a team that actually wins.

Q - What is the team atmosphere like here at USC?

I.M. - Very different from my past teams, very disciplined, a lot more structured, it is all about effort and execution on this team. There is a very uplifting spirit but not in a way that is just like fun and leisure athletics, it is very serious and I really like that. I think that was something I was lacking at the institutions I was competing at prior to USC, it is really an environment of professional athletes, most of them can go pro and are treated accordingly. We have meetings every Tuesday where we get educated about things other than our sport like our mentality or our nutrition. Also, Coach Caryl does a really great job motivating us and teaching us about what is important in life and I think that having a mentor like that is really valuable.

Q - What are your interests outside of track?

I.M. - I did some modeling when I was in high school and when I was at Cal so that's something I am still interested in doing. I like Public Relations (her current area of study), I am especially interested in crisis communications so when there is a scandal I would like to be the one to clean up the mess. I know that sounds wild, but I think that is so interesting, helping someone market themselves by showing their best reputation.

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Getting to Know Isabella Marten

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