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Hurdles coach has Olympic dreams
A Westfield High School hurdles coach is determinedly hoping to compete on the Olympic track.Alyssa Aiken's Olympic journey began when she decided to try out for track in high school. By the time she graduated from Chantilly High School in 2000, she had won six state championship titles.
“She came out of the womb driven,” said Brenda Aiken, her mother and a principal at Gar-Field High School in Woodbridge. “When she makes up her mind to do something, it's hard to stop her.”
Aiken, 25, of Chantilly, went to the University of Texas, interested in pursuing a degree in forensic science. But she kept her eye on the track, winning an NCAA championship while she was there.
A fall while trying out for the 2004 Olympics isn't deterring her from trying again. Aiken stopped training for about two years and began coaching because she wanted to “give back to kids,” Aiken said.
But she soon “fell in love with track again” and began training for the 2008 Olympics, usually three hours a day.
“I think it's awesome,” Brenda Aiken said. “Every young person should pursue their dreams, no matter what the cost.”
Aiken hopes to be running the 400 meter hurdle race in 55 seconds or less before Olympic tryouts at the end of June and is one second away from her goal. The top three runners will make the team.
If she doesn't make it to Beijing in August, her plan is to try for the Olympics again, Aiken said.
“I don't want to look back on my life and think about why I didn't try for this,” Aiken said.
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