FROM
TRAGEDY TO
TRIUMPH Photo courtesy of kristicastlin.com
Kristi Castlin shines in the Olympic spotlight D
raped in the flag of the United States, Kristi Castlin took a victory lap around the track at Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
“It was a feeling of just pure exhilaration when I looked up at the screen and saw the final results. It wasn’t so much about me winning a bronze, but just completing the sweep.(Still,) we knew that the possibility of us sweeping would be kind of a big deal, but we didn’t realize it was the first time in women’s track history that it had been done.”
It was moments after the former Douglasville resident had made Olympic history with her two other hurdling teammates at the 2016 Rio Games.
It had been a long road to an Olympic medal for Castlin, a former state champion at Chapel Hill High School in Douglasville. After enjoying success on the college level at Virginia Tech, the former All-American turned pro.
The trio of Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Castlin had a sweep in the 100-meter hurdles for Team USA, becoming the first American teammates - in any women’s event in the history of Olympic track and field - to take all three medals. While Rollins and Ali knew they would take a spot on the victory podium, Castlin had to wait 18 seconds before her place was confirmed; the time that it took the judges to rule whether she, or Britain’s Cindy Ofili, had crossed the line first in their photo finish. Once the scoreboard flashed Castlin had indeed edge out Ofili, the celebration began and the three women embraced. “This is my gold,” Castlin said about her
Speaking at a homecoming event in downtown Douglasville / Derrick Mahone. bronze-medal finish at the Olympic Games. “I’m so excited to share this with everyone. I’m so happy. It was a long destiny but we made it. I felt that I had the support from the whole country. This is not the end but the beginning.”
DERRICK MAHONE
During her quest for Olympic glory, Castlin used her rising recognition in athletics to speak out about gun violence. She dedicated her three Olympic trial races to the victims of gun violence. It is a cause that is dear to her heart, because she has had an up-close view of tragedy. “I’ve been around a lot of gun violence in my life,” Castlin said. “Not just Americans, but all over the world, we’re always touched by gun violence, always touched by tragedy. It feels good to be an example, not just for Americans but families all over the world.” West Georgia Living March/April 2017 27