2016 Olympic hopeful Brittney Reese already golden
Win or lose Saturday at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., Brittney Reese will make us proud.
Should she qualify this weekend for the Olympics, she would be well on her way to making history.
A win at Rio de Janeiro in August would give her two consecutive gold medals in the long jump, something no other woman has done. Reese won her first Olympic gold medal in 2012 in London.
As Mississippians, we’re glad to have Reese, a Gulfport native, represent the U.S. She is a model woman on and off the track.
If I want to win another gold medal, I'll have to beat Ivana.
Brittney Reese
She has an awesome work ethic and has battled back from injury — a torn labrum that required shoulder surgery — and disappointment — a fifth-place finish in her first Olympics in 2008 in Beijing.
She didn’t trash talk, she didn’t make excuses, she got to work.
“It shows the hard work I put in mentally and physically, because I was on the downside to where I was thinking I should retire,” Reese said. “A lot of people told me that’s not the way to go. I talked to people and worked real hard mentally to get where I am.”
Consider her confidence restored.
“I know what I’m capable of doing,” she told the Sun Herald’s James Jones. “I have to stay focused and mentally and physically prepared because I know it’s not going to be easy.”
Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic edged Reese in last month’s IAAF Diamond League meet in Sweden. But that’s just more motivation.
“If I want to win another gold medal, I’ll have to beat Ivana.”
Outstanding sportsmanship. That’s what Reese has come to personify.
We wish her the best in Brazil.
The editorial represents the views of the Sun Herald editorial board. Opinions of columnists and cartoonists are their own.
This story was originally published July 1, 2016 at 5:00 AM with the headline "2016 Olympic hopeful Brittney Reese already golden."