00:17 - I'm joined by hyleas

00:19 - fountain vod she's a

00:20 - heptathlete and silver

00:21 - medalist at the two

00:22 - thousand and eight

00:23 - Beijing Olympics

00:24 - now for those who

00:25 - aren't familiar as

00:26 - heptathlete people

00:27 - might be familiar with a

00:28 - triathlon biathlon what events

00:30 - are included in the heptathlon.

00:33 - So inapt chops

00:33 - launder seven different

00:35 - events and it's over

00:36 - a course of two days.

00:37 - So you always do

00:38 - the same events in the

00:40 - same order any

00:41 - heptathlon you ever do so

00:43 - the first thing that

00:44 - always starts off

00:44 - with the hurdles

00:46 - and then you move on to the.

00:47 - High jump.

00:49 - Shot put and always end the

00:50 - first day with the two hundred

00:52 - and then we always

00:53 - come back the next morning

00:55 - and do long jump.

00:56 - Javelin when and and finish

00:58 - off with the eight hundred.

01:00 - So it's pretty brutal.

01:02 - And what do you like

01:03 - about being a heptathlete

01:04 - that's a lot of

01:05 - events to to master at

01:06 - a time.

01:07 - Right in you know for me

01:09 - I've always loved the challenge

01:11 - and that's just how I

01:12 - thrive I love being able to.

01:15 - Challenge myself

01:16 - and it makes you

01:17 - so bored verse and

01:18 - I think that's what

01:19 - really helped me get

01:20 - you know my scholarship

01:21 - because I was a

01:22 - well-versed athlete.

01:23 - In college and so it.

01:25 - Kind of helps you you know

01:27 - but.

01:28 - Also if you're not getting

01:29 - something down in

01:30 - one event you can

01:31 - try to figure something out and

01:32 - then kind of come

01:33 - back through so.

01:36 - During the heptathlon

01:37 - is there an event

01:37 - that you kind of leaned

01:38 - forward lean towards

01:39 - that you kind of like

01:40 - more than all the rest.

01:42 - Oh yeah definitely

01:43 - because it's on a point scale

01:45 - and so the events that are

01:46 - better in you know we.

01:48 - We used to focus

01:49 - more on them not

01:50 - I wouldn't say

01:51 - not focus on the

01:52 - other events but

01:53 - because the whole

01:54 - goal is to score

01:55 - many points as possible and your

01:57 - you know your strong grievance

01:59 - and.

02:00 - I'm more of a like a

02:01 - speed power athletes so my

02:04 - go to events are the hurdles and

02:05 - the high jump and the long jump

02:07 - and the two hundred.

02:09 - Eight hundred room.

02:11 - I'm not so keen

02:11 - on that I think just

02:13 - because my muscle

02:13 - mass and then I get lactic

02:15 - acid a lot quicker

02:16 - than some of the.

02:18 - The thinner athletes but.

02:20 - But also like the throws as well

02:22 - you know I would

02:22 - say that those are.

02:24 - Are my second best.

02:25 - Throws so.

02:27 - Now we're going

02:28 - to talk about all your

02:29 - experiences in your

02:30 - competition but first I

02:31 - want to kind of go

02:31 - into your background

02:32 - where are you from

02:33 - where did you grow up.

02:35 - I grew up in Harrisburg

02:36 - Pennsylvania.

02:37 - You know

02:38 - and

02:39 - more like in the

02:40 - oberlin bressler area

02:42 - so kind of

02:43 - the suburban areas

02:44 - of Harrisburg but.

02:46 - You know

02:47 - I went to central

02:47 - dolphin east high school

02:49 - and so.

02:50 - You know just had a

02:51 - really good experience.

02:53 - Growing up as a

02:54 - kid with my sports so.

02:56 - And growing up did you always

02:57 - know that you

02:58 - wanted to do track.

03:00 - Yeah I did actually I

03:01 - was introduced attract when I

03:03 - was seven years old so I was

03:05 - just

03:05 - you know a youngster

03:07 - they didn't always have.

03:09 - You know my events

03:10 - or has my age group and

03:11 - so I always had to

03:13 - compete with kids that

03:14 - were a little bit older than me

03:16 - and which was.

03:17 - Fine with me because

03:18 - ever since I was a little kid if

03:20 - if

03:20 - you see any pictures of

03:21 - me I always had to stop rajon

03:23 - not knowing why I always

03:25 - just loved to stop

03:26 - watch I have a.

03:27 - Picture I show my husband

03:28 - of myself I was four years old

03:30 - sitting on Santa's lap

03:32 - and I had to stop

03:32 - watching on my moms that

03:33 - I used to always

03:34 - press the button to see

03:35 - how fast I could go

03:37 - and.

03:38 - Here we are.

03:40 - But yeah

03:41 - so.

03:42 - And.

03:43 - So you mentioned that you you

03:44 - were interested in an early age

03:45 - but at what point

03:46 - did you notice.

03:47 - Like you've had the

03:48 - talent for it and you

03:49 - realize oh I could

03:49 - take this really far.

03:51 - I would say.

03:54 - Probably in middle school.

03:56 - Because I was really.

03:58 - Trying out new events and.

04:01 - When I tried so many

04:02 - events I was actually

04:03 - able to compete on

04:04 - the high school level

04:06 - and so

04:07 - you know that just made

04:08 - me more excited and

04:08 - then once I got to

04:09 - high school you don't.

04:11 - For the alert pick

04:11 - trials as a high schooler

04:13 - really.

04:15 - Is the.

04:16 - Was

04:16 - the point when I said.

04:18 - You know what I could really do

04:20 - this on a competitive

04:21 - level not just in.

04:22 - In

04:23 - college but also on a

04:24 - professional level because.

04:25 - You know I'm in highschool but

04:27 - I qualified to compete

04:28 - with the older girls

04:29 - and so

04:30 - you know that kind of

04:31 - just gave me that light.

04:33 - In my head like wow you

04:34 - can really go far with this so.

04:37 - End up talking about

04:38 - some of the coaches

04:38 - that you might have

04:39 - had in your early years

04:40 - and how they encourage

04:41 - you to compete at.

04:43 - The

04:43 - competitive level in in college

04:45 - and high school and beyond.

04:47 - Yeah so

04:48 - you know starting off at seven.

04:51 - You're not really sure

04:52 - what you're going to

04:53 - do but my coaches were

04:54 - amazing coach kurdi.

04:56 - I'm not sure if he's

04:57 - still coaching but he's

04:59 - in the area was a

05:00 - Harrisburg high stepper

05:00 - back in the eighties

05:01 - and

05:02 - you know he always pushed

05:03 - me I think he saw

05:04 - something in me

05:05 - now when I think about it

05:07 - like the things that

05:08 - he would have me

05:08 - do just trying out

05:09 - different events I think

05:11 - he saw saw something in me

05:12 - that I probably didn't even

05:14 - know of obviously at the time

05:16 - but each coach

05:16 - that I went through.

05:18 - Whether it was you know

05:20 - literally

05:21 - that

05:21 - during

05:22 - you know.

05:23 - Summer track or

05:24 - in middle school

05:25 - or high school it was

05:26 - always my coaches

05:27 - saying something and then.

05:28 - Allowing me to try

05:29 - different things you

05:30 - know they never

05:31 - told me I couldn't do it.

05:33 - And so they always put me in

05:34 - different things whether it was.

05:36 - Long job where high jump or.

05:39 - Two hundred four

05:40 - hundred eight hundred that

05:41 - they always let me try

05:42 - different things and then.

05:43 - You know once I

05:44 - got to high school

05:45 - is when I really

05:46 - started focusing

05:47 - on those things and I

05:48 - think my highschool coach

05:49 - really knew that

05:51 - you know there was

05:51 - some nothing special

05:53 - and so he would

05:53 - sign me up for different

05:55 - meats like out of

05:56 - the state like going to

05:57 - California or

05:59 - going to.

06:00 - Texas for you know the.

06:02 - World junior championships so

06:05 - I think him.

06:06 - Seeing that Emmy and

06:07 - and also providing me

06:09 - those opportunities

06:10 - to compete with other

06:11 - ather seats because it opened

06:13 - up a whole new thing where

06:14 - I was competing

06:15 - against the world

06:16 - and so

06:17 - you know those.

06:18 - I appreciate my coaches

06:19 - foreseeing that in me cause.

06:21 - You know I might not

06:22 - have seen it in myself

06:23 - but they definitely

06:24 - seen it in me and

06:25 - then that kind of helps.

06:26 - You know progress

06:27 - me to where I got to.

06:30 - Now speaking of

06:31 - your your college

06:32 - competitive career you ended up.

06:33 - Competing at two

06:34 - schools at first at

06:35 - barton community

06:36 - college in Kansas

06:37 - what was your

06:38 - experience like there.

06:39 - Oh it was amazing you

06:40 - know competing against.

06:42 - Other athletes like.

06:44 - At that school it

06:44 - was like either you're

06:45 - going to make it or

06:46 - you're not because.

06:48 - Half of my team I will

06:49 - tell you was already

06:50 - olympians like from

06:50 - their country because

06:52 - there were so many people.

06:53 - We had people from

06:54 - Trinidad and Jamaica and.

06:57 - You know just.

06:58 - Different places

06:58 - but they had already

06:59 - been an olympic

07:00 - team so it was like.

07:02 - You either kind of get in there

07:03 - and join the crowd.

07:05 - Or

07:06 - you don't make it

07:07 - you know

07:07 - and or it would be too

07:08 - tough for you and for me

07:10 - it was a challenge I'm like

07:11 - this is where I want to be at

07:13 - so I just jumped in and.

07:15 - Took it for what it was and.

07:17 - You know I was able

07:18 - to do very well there.

07:19 - So

07:20 - and what was that

07:21 - transition like going

07:22 - from high school to

07:23 - college cause you you

07:24 - mentioned that your coach.

07:25 - Gave you the opportunity to

07:26 - travel a couple of times but

07:27 - going from you know

07:28 - competing at your school to

07:30 - kind of on that stage

07:31 - with all those all those

07:32 - athletes what was that was that

07:33 - tradition transition

07:34 - difficult for you.

07:36 - I.

07:37 - Don't think it was difficult it.

07:40 - Was

07:41 - just just.

07:42 - Different on my body

07:43 - in general because the

07:44 - level of training that

07:45 - my body was being

07:46 - introduced to.

07:48 - Weight training.

07:49 - I'll tell you

07:50 - I was probably a little puny

07:52 - puny kid going into

07:53 - college and then when I

07:54 - came home for

07:55 - Thanksgiving break my mom

07:56 - was like what happen.

07:58 - You've been lifting

07:59 - weights I can tell

08:00 - like my whole body

08:01 - just transitioned.

08:03 - Into like this pure

08:04 - athlete and so.

08:06 - You know.

08:07 - I don't think it was

08:09 - just hard I think my

08:10 - body went through

08:11 - just like a nice transition

08:12 - and

08:12 - me also saying that

08:15 - you know

08:15 - my strength.

08:16 - For some lifting

08:17 - weights cause that's

08:18 - something I didn't

08:18 - really do in high school

08:20 - and so I thought it

08:21 - was fun you know

08:22 - so.

08:23 - And then you

08:24 - eventually went on to

08:25 - compete at the

08:26 - university of Georgia.

08:27 - Where you

08:28 - was it difficult

08:29 - for you to leave

08:29 - barton community college.

08:31 - I

08:32 - I wouldn't say it

08:33 - was difficult it was

08:34 - definitely a bigger

08:35 - transition because.

08:36 - My

08:37 - my class sizes

08:37 - were a lot smaller

08:39 - and then when I got to Georgia.

08:41 - I took.

08:42 - Everyone had to take

08:43 - Georgia history right.

08:44 - In order to graduate

08:46 - and so there was four hundred

08:47 - and fifty people in that class

08:49 - and when I was

08:50 - at barton there was

08:51 - maybe more Max fifteen

08:52 - people in my classes.

08:54 - I would say in the classroom

08:56 - definitely.

08:57 - Have a bit of a

08:58 - challenge for me but on

08:59 - the track I think it

09:00 - was a good transition

09:01 - for me

09:02 - just meeting new cultures I had.

09:04 - You know coaches for

09:06 - different events which

09:07 - helped me and.

09:08 - There was a lot of Patience.

09:10 - From those coaches as well so

09:12 - I think the biggest

09:13 - transition was

09:14 - going from like.

09:15 - Only fifteen people

09:16 - in my class to

09:17 - like four hundred

09:18 - and fifty people.

09:19 - So that I think that was where

09:21 - the biggest challenge was.

09:23 - And what did you

09:24 - study in school.

09:26 - I

09:26 - studied child and

09:27 - family development.

09:29 - Because I really wanted to be

09:30 - like a counselor

09:31 - or some sorts or.

09:32 - Just work with children in any

09:34 - any way

09:35 - and

09:36 - you know that's

09:37 - that's truly what my passion

09:39 - is working with children so.

09:42 - Now during your time.

09:43 - In Georgia you ended up winning.

09:46 - Several ncaas

09:47 - ncaas championships.

09:48 - What are some of your favorite

09:50 - memories from competing

09:51 - for for Georgia.

09:53 - I would say.

09:56 - Winning my first and

09:57 - c w a championship.

09:59 - It was kind of like one

10:00 - of those among those

10:02 - high low moments

10:02 - where you're like super

10:03 - exciting and you're like oh no.

10:05 - Because.

10:06 - I

10:07 - do

10:07 - and they have

10:08 - tough line like as a.

10:10 - College student you your your

10:11 - ultimate scores

10:12 - to score six out.

10:14 - Spray

10:15 - and so

10:16 - like that's a really good score

10:18 - and.

10:19 - I scored fifty nine ninety nine

10:22 - and it was like.

10:24 - Hold on my coach

10:24 - goes back and he's like

10:25 - come on there's gotta

10:26 - be a point somewhere

10:27 - that's messing like you've gotta

10:29 - like we gotta find this point

10:30 - and it was like that high low

10:32 - moment and I

10:32 - wanted to score that

10:33 - but I do didn't

10:34 - but I was still super

10:35 - excited because it

10:36 - was my first nc w

10:37 - like championships.

10:38 - And it was

10:39 - out in California it

10:40 - was nice weather so

10:42 - I would say that was

10:43 - definitely one of my.

10:45 - Highlight moments.

10:47 - So.

10:48 - Yup.

10:50 - So you describe

10:51 - how your your

10:51 - body experience kind

10:52 - of a transition when

10:53 - you went to college.

10:55 - Talk about some of the

10:56 - training that a

10:56 - heptathlete has to

10:57 - to.

10:58 - To do compared to

10:59 - maybe some people

11:00 - who just do sprints

11:01 - or a long distance.

11:03 - Right and so with a

11:04 - tough line you know you

11:05 - can't just get to

11:06 - practice and be like oh

11:08 - I'm just going to

11:08 - train for US today

11:09 - you have to.

11:10 - Truly have a schedule

11:12 - that is planned out

11:13 - for your success and.

11:16 - I.

11:17 - With my coaches we kind of sat

11:18 - down and tried

11:19 - to figure out like

11:20 - what is the best plan for me

11:22 - and so some days I'd be

11:24 - training for sprints

11:25 - and hurdles.

11:26 - One day I'd be training for

11:27 - the eight hundred doing more

11:29 - you know

11:30 - my.

11:30 - Conditioning longer

11:31 - conditioning workouts and then.

11:34 - You know it'd be

11:35 - like a day where I

11:36 - was training for

11:37 - chocolate and highjump so

11:39 - it was.

11:40 - You know a mix of

11:41 - things but still kind of

11:43 - bringing everything

11:44 - together just

11:45 - being able to focus

11:46 - on some events and.

11:48 - At the

11:48 - you know going

11:49 - into that conference

11:50 - championships just

11:51 - really being able to put all

11:52 - of that stuff together

11:54 - and so

11:54 - I would definitely say training

11:56 - was a lot harder

11:57 - than going to attract

11:58 - me I enjoyed

11:59 - going to track needs

12:00 - training was brutal

12:01 - some days you know it's just.

12:03 - It's just a lot and so

12:05 - and I think that's

12:06 - why I ended up being

12:07 - was able to be so strong

12:08 - because of my train evening

12:10 - and then going

12:11 - into a track meet my

12:12 - coach always made

12:13 - to track me so easy.

12:14 - Like he's like if you can

12:15 - get through the training

12:16 - you can get through

12:17 - attract me very easy so.

12:18 - You know that was.

12:20 - You know probably

12:21 - one of the best

12:22 - parts about it is just

12:23 - being able to get

12:24 - to the meat to put

12:25 - everything together.

12:27 - Now of course we

12:28 - are going to talk about

12:28 - your experience at the

12:29 - Olympics but I I want

12:30 - to kind of talk about the world

12:31 - championships as well because

12:33 - for people who

12:33 - maybe don't follow track

12:34 - very often you only

12:35 - kind of see the biggest

12:36 - athletes at

12:37 - the Olympics or maybe

12:38 - the ncaas championship so.

12:39 - For for someone

12:40 - who's in that world

12:41 - how do people

12:41 - characterize the world

12:42 - championships is

12:43 - this where you see

12:44 - you know

12:45 - this is these are the

12:46 - people have the best times

12:47 - is this kind of the

12:48 - ultimate goal for some

12:49 - people is there

12:50 - more or less pressure.

12:51 - You know what

12:51 - what's unique about it.

12:54 - So I would say what's

12:55 - unique about it is.

12:57 - You know

12:58 - it's every two years

12:59 - but when that off

13:00 - year there's also what

13:01 - people don't know that there's

13:02 - also an indoor

13:03 - world championships.

13:04 - So on that off outdoor.

13:06 - World championship

13:07 - year there's an indoor

13:08 - world championship

13:09 - year the very next year

13:10 - so

13:11 - but what's unique about it is

13:12 - there's still so much

13:14 - there's still pressure

13:15 - you know you're

13:15 - still meeting up with

13:17 - you know all of the

13:18 - top athletes in the

13:19 - world and that's when

13:20 - we all come together

13:21 - and collaborate

13:22 - but the heptathlon is.

13:24 - For the heptathlon I think

13:25 - the most unique part is

13:27 - when you get there.

13:29 - It's like.

13:30 - You know you you go through

13:31 - any event so say we do hurdles

13:33 - and normally there's

13:34 - like thirty minutes

13:35 - between each event

13:36 - at any other track mate

13:37 - besides a world

13:38 - championships and Olympics

13:39 - but at the world champion.

13:41 - Or.

13:41 - Any like

13:43 - me outside of the world

13:44 - championships and Olympics.

13:46 - But when you

13:47 - you'll do the hurdles right

13:48 - and then you'll have like.

13:50 - Three four hours in between

13:52 - to rest up

13:53 - and then get to the next event

13:55 - so it's a lot longer it's like

13:57 - a morning session

13:58 - and then you come

13:59 - back and there's

13:59 - the evening session

14:00 - so there's like

14:01 - eight hours in between

14:03 - the morning session

14:03 - and evening session

14:05 - so that your body can rest and

14:06 - you can like

14:07 - literally give your all.

14:09 - In everything

14:10 - because when there's only

14:11 - thirty minutes in between.

14:13 - It can be tough

14:14 - yeah you.

14:15 - There's been many

14:16 - times where I felt like I

14:19 - got hit by a bus like

14:19 - the next day going into.

14:20 - Day two of the half because

14:22 - it's kind of just

14:23 - like back to back

14:24 - you're constantly

14:24 - doing something

14:25 - and you're constantly

14:26 - having to warm back up again

14:28 - and then

14:29 - compete in another event so.

14:31 - Like I said the

14:31 - unique part about it is.

14:33 - You know

14:34 - there's that too time in between

14:36 - that you have to

14:37 - like really rest up

14:38 - and really give

14:39 - your all in your Max.

14:41 - In every event so.

14:43 - So let's get into

14:44 - the Olympics to to

14:45 - make the olympic

14:46 - team you have to

14:47 - go to the trials but

14:48 - you also have to

14:49 - qualify to get to the

14:50 - trials so what is the

14:51 - build up like to get to

14:52 - that point to to

14:53 - get to the trials to

14:54 - possibly make the tea team.

14:56 - Oh goodness so you're you

14:57 - know you're training

14:58 - for so long and.

15:00 - The the thing that

15:01 - you want to do is

15:02 - qualify in your

15:03 - first meet if you can

15:05 - like that's.

15:06 - It takes all the

15:07 - pressure off of just like.

15:08 - Getting that standards so

15:10 - that's what most people do

15:12 - but you know there's.

15:13 - Things happen

15:14 - and some people don't get that

15:15 - qualifier until like

15:16 - the meet before

15:17 - or you know the

15:18 - the second to last me

15:20 - and you know

15:21 - there is cut off dates

15:23 - so you have to

15:24 - you know try to

15:25 - make those dates and

15:26 - when I tell you the pressure

15:28 - can be on sometimes like

15:29 - and I think that's why a lot of

15:30 - athletes get stressed

15:31 - out it's because.

15:32 - You know you have to

15:33 - you have a window

15:34 - of opera Trinity.

15:36 - And if you can't get it

15:37 - in that window it's like.

15:38 - Oh this training

15:39 - is like for nothing

15:40 - so the goal is to

15:42 - you know.

15:43 - Get that first meet.

15:45 - Go and get that qualifying

15:46 - standard and then

15:46 - you can finally just

15:47 - drop your shoulders

15:48 - and just train

15:49 - and compete and have fun but.

15:51 - It's not always that easy.

15:53 - You know so.

15:55 - But but

15:55 - it kind of makes it fun and.

15:57 - In a sense as well.

15:59 - But.

16:00 - Some people like

16:01 - to chase the target.

16:02 - You know

16:03 - I prefer not to have to do that.

16:05 - And and speaking of

16:06 - hitting that narrow

16:07 - window when it comes

16:08 - up to a couple of days

16:09 - before and maybe the

16:10 - the

16:10 - maybe weeks before

16:12 - one of those really big events

16:13 - is there

16:14 - are you training

16:15 - up until then or is

16:15 - there like a taper

16:16 - period how do you

16:17 - sort of

16:18 - target that one window

16:19 - to do your best in that time.

16:21 - Right and so you are you're

16:22 - trying to take her

16:23 - you don't want to.

16:24 - You know have all

16:25 - these crazy rats your

16:26 - intensity will be high

16:28 - but your reps are low

16:29 - like with any

16:30 - you know training like

16:31 - you might take

16:32 - just a few shot put

16:33 - throws or take just a

16:34 - few long jumps and.

16:35 - Kind of just fine tuning

16:37 - things but it's not as as.

16:40 - You know a long

16:41 - practice isn't as long

16:42 - and you also want

16:43 - to take a look at like

16:45 - you know what is

16:45 - the schedule going

16:46 - to be like that you're

16:47 - going to be doing

16:48 - you know

16:48 - are you going to be

16:49 - competing in the evening

16:50 - are you going to be competing

16:51 - in the morning

16:52 - so there's a lot of

16:53 - variables in this that you

16:54 - have to really think about

16:56 - and so my coach

16:57 - was really good at

16:58 - you know okay we're going to be

16:59 - running eight

17:00 - hundred at this time

17:01 - let's try to do some of

17:02 - these longer workouts

17:03 - around that time so your body

17:05 - is getting used to being awake.

17:07 - And competing at

17:08 - that time because.

17:10 - You know when I was in Beijing.

17:12 - We competed in the.

17:14 - In the eight hundred at like.

17:16 - Ten something at

17:17 - night on a normal basis

17:19 - that's my sleep time time

17:20 - you know so my body is.

17:22 - You know

17:22 - ready to be sleep at that time

17:25 - but

17:25 - going into a couple of weeks

17:26 - I would say maybe a month

17:28 - before

17:29 - start transitioning

17:31 - into knowing

17:32 - what time we're competing

17:33 - so.

17:34 - We might have some later

17:36 - training sessions you know

17:37 - so it's a

17:38 - it's a lot that kind

17:39 - of goes into it.

17:41 - And just talk about that feeling

17:43 - of when you're at the trials and

17:45 - you know you you succeed

17:46 - you ended up getting

17:48 - a gold at the two

17:48 - thousand and eight trials

17:49 - and

17:49 - that feeling of

17:50 - knowing I'm going to i'm

17:51 - going to go compete

17:51 - at the Olympics I made

17:52 - the team.

17:53 - Yeah

17:54 - so you know it's

17:55 - just one of those.

17:56 - Feelings that.

17:59 - Everything that

17:59 - I've worked towards

18:01 - I finally accomplished you know

18:03 - and.

18:04 - It

18:05 - all the hard work and dedication

18:07 - has finally paid off you know

18:08 - for me

18:09 - in two thousand and

18:10 - eight my whole thing was.

18:13 - I didn't want to

18:14 - make it in anybody's.

18:15 - Like

18:16 - a doubt in anybody's

18:17 - mind that I was not on

18:18 - the team because I I

18:19 - miss the team in two

18:20 - thousand and four.

18:21 - I just a few points

18:22 - and I told myself i'm

18:23 - going to train my butt off.

18:26 - And make it in no

18:27 - one's head that I was

18:28 - not one that team and

18:29 - I ended up winning by

18:30 - like three hundred and something

18:32 - plus points and so.

18:33 - For me that was like the

18:35 - the greatest

18:36 - feeling in my heart that.

18:37 - No one's going to doubt

18:38 - that I made the team this time

18:40 - you know

18:40 - because

18:41 - I.

18:42 - Made it by like three

18:43 - hundred something points so

18:44 - but it's just.

18:46 - It's the greatest

18:47 - feeling in the world to

18:48 - know that your hard

18:49 - work has finally paid

18:50 - off so.

18:52 - And

18:52 - talk about just your

18:53 - your whole overall

18:54 - experience at the

18:55 - two thousand and

18:55 - eight Olympics because

18:56 - obviously there's

18:57 - there's the the

18:58 - competition that you

18:58 - have to think about but

18:59 - there's a lot of

19:00 - extra stuff that

19:01 - being part of team usa

19:02 - the clothes the media

19:04 - talk about all about.

19:06 - Yeah you know.

19:07 - Sometimes

19:08 - you know you have to kind of

19:09 - stay off the social

19:10 - media it wasn't

19:11 - I would say it wasn't as

19:13 - big as it is now you know

19:14 - but.

19:16 - You know I had to kind of stay

19:17 - away from things just because

19:19 - I went and as being

19:20 - the number one athlete

19:21 - and that's a lot of pressure

19:23 - you know

19:24 - and so luckily I had a chance

19:26 - to have Jackie joyner kersee as.

19:28 - My mentor that year

19:29 - and that helped

19:30 - me out tremendously

19:31 - you know she really.

19:33 - You know talked to me about

19:35 - don't get into the hype

19:36 - of the name of the meat.

19:38 - You know it's still

19:39 - just any other meat.

19:40 - You know some people

19:41 - get super nervous when it says

19:43 - world championships

19:44 - or Olympics in your

19:45 - heart just starts

19:46 - hounding and it's like.

19:48 - You try harder than.

19:49 - You would if it was

19:50 - any other little meat

19:51 - and so she was like I just

19:52 - want you to go in there.

19:54 - Just think of it as being

19:55 - any other you know.

19:57 - Meat that you ever competed

19:59 - in and not think about

20:01 - oh the name of the meat and so I

20:02 - think that really

20:03 - helped me out a ton.

20:05 - Is just

20:06 - hate these athletes

20:06 - are any other athlete

20:08 - you know I've worked

20:08 - hard they've worked hard

20:10 - but.

20:11 - I'm going to go and give my all

20:13 - and just really dial in

20:14 - and focus on just that and.

20:16 - I can I can tell the

20:17 - difference between.

20:19 - Any.

20:20 - That I've gone to.

20:22 - Know

20:23 - without that type of

20:24 - advice beforehand

20:25 - cause I was just like.

20:27 - A nervous wreck

20:28 - like my first world

20:29 - championships I

20:29 - didn't have that advice

20:31 - and so going into

20:32 - two thousand and eight

20:34 - it really helped me

20:35 - cause I tell you in

20:36 - two thousand and four

20:37 - I was a nervous wreck

20:38 - right out of college

20:39 - going to a world

20:40 - championship match me.

20:41 - Meeting

20:41 - you know the other girls

20:43 - from different countries and

20:44 - you know meeting that

20:45 - like Carolina close plus

20:46 - like seven thousand point

20:48 - multi at that time and I was

20:49 - competing get there I'm like.

20:51 - Ooh my goodness.

20:54 - So

20:55 - but I think.

20:57 - You know just that advice

20:58 - kind of helped me a ton.

21:00 - Of have.

21:01 - Kind of just bringing

21:02 - things down and.

21:04 - A few notches.

21:06 - Now in the actual competition.

21:08 - At the two thousand

21:08 - and eight Olympics you.

21:09 - Ended up in the

21:10 - bronze medal position

21:11 - but then you ended

21:12 - up with the silver medal

21:13 - what happened there.

21:15 - Right and so.

21:17 - Wish that was a little bit

21:18 - of controversy going on.

21:21 - You know.

21:22 - I would I would say it it

21:24 - kind of all started off.

21:26 - In the drug testing ground.

21:28 - With like.

21:30 - People like saying things to

21:32 - to this young lady about

21:34 - cause it was actually a

21:35 - really crazy experience

21:37 - and.

21:37 - When we were in a drug testing

21:39 - room and while we were in the.

21:40 - Media room like

21:41 - people are asking her

21:42 - questions like really

21:43 - bad questions like I

21:44 - didn't even get any questions

21:45 - in the media room

21:47 - afterwards.

21:48 - They were just focusing on her

21:49 - about drought hugs and all this

21:51 - stuff so I'm like.

21:52 - You know

21:53 - there was a snicker

21:54 - sounds like I just

21:55 - ate a snickers while

21:56 - they were like asking.

21:58 - All these crazy

21:59 - questions but anyways.

22:00 - Push come to shove.

22:02 - The very next day

22:03 - after her drug test was.

22:05 - Done

22:06 - she ended up testing positive.

22:08 - For

22:09 - I

22:09 - think it was like a

22:10 - methyl testosterone

22:11 - or something like that and then.

22:13 - I.

22:14 - Got a phone call

22:15 - in the village cause I hadn't

22:16 - I didn't know it right away.

22:18 - We had these little phones

22:20 - and I got to.

22:21 - Phone call from one of those

22:23 - media people from

22:24 - usa track and field

22:25 - and they are like

22:26 - you've been upgraded

22:27 - to the silver medal

22:28 - and I'm like what.

22:30 - So that hit literally the

22:32 - hairs on my arms stood up

22:34 - and they're like we

22:35 - need you to bring

22:36 - your bronze medal

22:37 - to US right now

22:38 - and.

22:40 - And so I did that and then.

22:42 - They were like

22:43 - we were talking about like how

22:45 - do I still get this

22:46 - experience of like.

22:48 - You know

22:49 - I didn't get the total podium

22:51 - experience you know how.

22:52 - You get up there a

22:53 - you know they raise the flag you

22:55 - know this whole special moment

22:57 - and so usa tf decided that.

23:00 - You know they would

23:01 - bring some my coach and

23:03 - my family into the

23:04 - village there was like

23:05 - a little place where they

23:06 - had different flags hanging.

23:08 - And they did a ceremony

23:09 - in front of those flags and.

23:11 - Definitely wasn't the same.

23:13 - But I was very appreciative

23:15 - that they actually

23:16 - did that for me and so they

23:18 - gave me the metal.

23:20 - And.

23:21 - The biggest thing as

23:22 - you know most people

23:23 - don't usually get

23:23 - their metal that fast

23:24 - usually it's like years later

23:26 - that they find out about.

23:28 - These drug test

23:28 - and all this stuff but.

23:30 - Luckily the lab was literally

23:31 - across the street from the track

23:33 - they were doing.

23:35 - Drug testing.

23:36 - Immediately afterwards

23:38 - and so I got lucky to.

23:40 - Be able to receive that

23:41 - medal while

23:42 - we're still in Beijing

23:43 - so.

23:44 - So you ended up

23:45 - competing at the highest level

23:47 - that anybody could

23:48 - add in track and

23:49 - now you are a coach

23:50 - what what kinds

23:51 - of things do you like

23:52 - about being a coach.

23:54 - The biggest thing that I

23:56 - like being about a coach is.

23:58 - Starting these.

23:59 - My kids I have a youth club

24:01 - I'm not a college

24:02 - coach anymore but.

24:04 - My cause I told you my true

24:05 - passion is working

24:06 - with youngsters

24:07 - and so

24:08 - just starting them from

24:09 - ground zero whether it's from.

24:11 - Teaching them to skip.

24:13 - Or

24:14 - you know no teaching

24:14 - them how to do.

24:16 - Have a skip be skipped

24:17 - but kicks whatever

24:19 - I think that's.

24:20 - My my thing is teaching

24:21 - the kids from ground zero

24:23 - and then.

24:24 - Also teaching them

24:25 - how to work hard

24:26 - how to be dedicated

24:27 - to the sport.

24:29 - How to eat right how to hang out

24:31 - with the right people

24:32 - so that you don't

24:33 - get in trouble and so.

24:34 - I feel like my whole thing is

24:36 - I want to be able to send kids.

24:38 - Off to college

24:39 - and their college coach call me

24:41 - and say I have the greatest kid.

24:43 - Because

24:44 - you've taught them so

24:45 - many good things like that.

24:47 - You know it's just so

24:48 - rewarding to me being able to

24:50 - because I've had some kids in my

24:52 - club get scholarships

24:53 - to schools and

24:54 - you know just seeing them

24:55 - flourish like I have

24:56 - a young kid now.

24:57 - I.

24:58 - Guess he's not so

24:58 - young he's going to

24:59 - be a sophomore in

25:00 - college but he's done

25:01 - so great at one of the schools

25:02 - down the road here

25:03 - in roanoke college

25:05 - and he's just.

25:06 - You know his coach

25:07 - told me he's like

25:08 - he's so dedicated

25:09 - he's hard working and

25:10 - you know and I think about

25:11 - he started my group young.

25:13 - And these are some of the thing

25:14 - all that I wanted

25:15 - to instill in him.

25:16 - You know

25:17 - and now he's going

25:18 - off and he's being a

25:19 - good person he's

25:20 - being a good citizen and

25:21 - you know being a good

25:22 - college student and.

25:24 - I just couldn't be more proud.

25:27 - And you say you

25:28 - love working with kids

25:29 - and I know you have

25:29 - children of your own

25:31 - is there any inkling

25:31 - at the moment

25:32 - that they might be into track.

25:35 - Oh goodness my you can

25:36 - tell that my son is a track

25:38 - kid

25:39 - that he his parents I ran

25:40 - track he swears that he is the.

25:42 - The fastest kid.

25:44 - He tells.

25:45 - Me and my husband

25:47 - mommy chase me daddy chase me

25:48 - all day long through

25:49 - our dining room the

25:51 - living room through

25:52 - the hallways everything.

25:53 - Or

25:54 - even more outside

25:55 - he's always trying to race

25:56 - like the little kids

25:57 - in our neighborhood

25:58 - or even whether it's

25:59 - racing them on his scooter

26:01 - his bike

26:02 - on foot

26:03 - it doesn't matter he's like

26:04 - always racing and just

26:06 - reminds me of mice self.

26:08 - You know when I was a kid

26:09 - and

26:10 - just.

26:11 - You know.

26:12 - Sing it

26:13 - for me it just like.

26:14 - This kid could have

26:15 - a really good future

26:16 - because I started

26:17 - off this way you know

26:18 - and so

26:19 - you know my goal as a

26:20 - parent is to provide him with.

26:23 - You know everything

26:24 - he can be successful

26:25 - and do I hope

26:25 - he's a track athlete

26:27 - or of course I

26:27 - do but if he's not.

26:29 - You know there's other sports

26:30 - my husband played football

26:32 - you know so

26:33 - and.

26:34 - You know I just want

26:35 - him to be able to.

26:37 - Be in a sport and you

26:39 - know be his best so.

26:42 - And that we've got a minute

26:43 - left so I want to ask you

26:44 - as someone who's

26:45 - lived at yourself what

26:46 - advice would you give

26:46 - to young people like

26:47 - the ones that you mentor now

26:49 - who

26:49 - have ambitions of

26:50 - competing at the highest level.

26:52 - You know my my advice is if

26:54 - you believe it

26:54 - you can achieve it.

26:56 - You know.

26:57 - What through hard

26:58 - work and dedication you

26:59 - gotta fully dedicate

27:00 - and put yourself into.

27:02 - You know and give yourself

27:03 - the opportunity to be great

27:05 - and if you

27:05 - because if you don't

27:06 - it won't happen

27:08 - but you gotta believe it you

27:09 - gotta see it

27:10 - happening for yourself

27:12 - and I think that it's for anyone

27:13 - even as an adult you know

27:15 - I don't think you're ever

27:16 - too young to dream you not

27:17 - right now I'm a stay at home mom

27:19 - and but I still have

27:20 - dreams of doing

27:21 - other things once my

27:23 - kids go off to school

27:24 - and

27:25 - you know i'm

27:26 - not

27:27 - you know

27:27 - the house mom

27:28 - anymore I'm going to

27:29 - you know I still have dreams of.

27:31 - Doing things I I even want to do

27:33 - I was telling my husband

27:34 - he's like you're some crazy

27:35 - I was like I want to

27:36 - do masters one day.

27:37 - Like.

27:39 - So

27:40 - but.

27:41 - If you believe it

27:42 - you can do it

27:43 - you know

27:43 - and it's just a

27:44 - matter of putting the

27:45 - time and effort into it.

27:47 - Alright

27:48 - we've been speaking

27:49 - to highly fountain vot

27:50 - heptathlete and silver

27:51 - medalist at the two

27:51 - thousand and eight

27:52 - Beijing Olympics thank

27:53 - you very much for your time.

27:54 - Thank you.

27:56 - Hmm hmm.