Make no mistake. I think the world of Kellie Wells. To even know only her athletic story is to be overcome by this woman's devotion to her sport and her desire to succeed at it.
And that's only the half of it....
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| Kellie adds a little dance to her repetoire after upsetting 2012 Olympic hurdle champion Sally Pearson last year. (Right video) Wells wins her first U.S. title and qualifies for 2011 World Championships in Daegu. |
Hurdler Kellie Wells isn’t ready to be counted out.
And a smart track prognosticator would be wise to
pay attention.
Pardoning the suggestion that the 31-year old bronze
medalist from the 2012 Olympics is hard headed, but the trait of perseverance
runs deep through the soul of the Richmond, Virginia native.
Older sister Tonni, herself a former collegiate hurdler,
and now trainer as well as corporate manager of several fitness outlets in the
Hollywood, CA area, offers a viable analysis.
“She was definitely the pinnacle
definition of middle child syndrome.”
But being a middle child doesn’t
even begin to describe the journey which has made Kellie Wells the person she
is today. Yet, it does offer some explanation as to why we should continue to expect
to see the 5-foot-3 dynamo excelling on and off the track and breaking barriers
much higher than the 33-inch hurdles she flies over for a living.
Wells’ life story has been well documented
through many media outlets, including Sports Illustrated and ESPN. There was
the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather as a high school
student, an event which forced her to leave home at the age of 16, and a
situation made worse when her mother and stepfather were killed in a car
accident weeks after her departure, an accident which the unknowing teenager
drove right past.
There was her performance in the
2008 Olympic Trials, where she ran a personal best time of 12.58 in the
semi-finals to qualify with the fastest time for the finals, a race she never
got to run because of a hamstring which was torn on her last step.
But Wells always comes back.
She was only able to go public with
the teenage piece of her past in 2010, after years of internal processing – a
situation that she confronted with thoughtful reflection, spirituality, and by
being willing to accept the help of others, most notably Vatel Dixon, her high
school coach from Midlothian’s James River HS.
But it was her intensity and
overwhelming desire to succeed which helped Wells overcome the second setback.
After the tragedy of the 2008 trials, Wells, who now lives and trains in Orlando,
Florida under the guidance of legendary sprinter and now coach Dennis Mitchell,
had to learn how to simply walk again before beginning hurdle training. It took
three years to even return to race at Hayward Field, where the injury had taken
place.
Wells won that race in 2011 with a
best ever time of 12.50, finally winning an outdoor national title, one to
match the indoor crown she had captured months before.
But weeks later, at the World
Championships in Daegu, Korea, Wells banged the seventh hurdle in the finals
and failed to finish. Once again, her stamina and ability to persevere were put
to the test.
A year later, and six months after
enduring surgery for a broken arm, she was on the medal stand at the London
Olympics.
(continued)
To view the rest of this article, please click here and turn to page 16. Of course, you are welcome to read the other stories in TrackSide magazine, from writers such as Khadevis Robinson, Sarah Masters and Sean Pena.
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