Today I was driving through the back roads in my area and I saw an outdoor track. I got out and started to take a walk around the track only to stop and take a detour to take a look at a small office that had pictures of various athletes on the outside off the office.
The picture that stood out the most was of a women named Kim Gallagher. I did a little research and found out she was a high school phenom and then carried that success all the way to the professional level. Sad to say, she died from a stroke at only 38 that probably had something to do with cancer complications she was having.
From what I understand, she grew up in this area and ran track at a high school not to far from where I live. They also say she could run anything from the 400M on up!
[i]
She summed up her career by saying: ''I needed to run for all the wrong reasons. I needed to run to keep my shoe contract. I needed to run to pay my bills. I learned a huge lesson. When I ran in the 1984 Olympics, I was going to be a star. I was going to make so much money, and I did.
‘‘But it doesn’t last if you’re not devoted to what you’re doing. I was not devoted to my running, and it showed. I don’t get a great joy from running or training or going out and doing all the work. Running is not something I love, but I like excelling at things that I am good at.’’ [/i]
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/21/sports/kim-gallagher-38-olympic-track-medalist.html?pagewanted=1