2017 AAU Junior Olympic GamesJul 29, 2017 by Cory Mull
2x AAU Junior Olympic Games Champ Reese Gentry Still Getting Faster
2x AAU Junior Olympic Games Champ Reese Gentry Still Getting Faster
Reese Gentry won the AAU Junior Olympic Games 11-year-old girl race walk title.
Originally published on MileSplit
The fastest pint-sized race walker on the West Coast -- and nationally -- knows a thing or two about competing.
Reese Gentry scored her second straight AAU Junior Olympic Games championship in the 1500m race walk on Saturday on the first day of the Games, narrowly missing out on a national record by just two seconds with a finishing time of 7:19.29.
The Northridge (California) resident beat second-place Sophia Rankin by over a minute (8:32.34), and the Bronx Race Walk Queen, sixth-place finisher Tiarra Jackson, by over two minutes.
Had Gentry recorded a national record, it would have been her second straight. A year ago, she posted a time of 7:46.29 in the 10-year-old division.
Get this: all she could think about afterward was technique.
"It's a really fast cadence and it's really hard to keep up," Gentry said of the event. "So you have to always think of your fast cadence and your hands and whether you're lifting or if you're going too hard. It's a challenge."
But Gentry has experience, too.
She practices with her dad on weekdays in the neighborhood; he jogs while she perfects her racewalk form.
"It's fun bonding and it's really, really nice," she said.
She even competes with her brother, Cole, who's three years older. When she goes out to events -- Cole's at home for this one, she says -- she uses him as motivation.
"[His time] was my goal," she said. "I used to look up to him, but now I'm training with him."
As for the question of who's faster?
"We usually tie," she says, "but sometimes I go faster."
If Saturday was any indication, Gentry is in store for much more success down the road.
She's still 11. And while she likes breaking records, it's not such a big deal, either.
"[Breaking a record] is a goal every single time," she said. "But sometimes it doesn't matter. It just matters if you try your hardest."
Streaming: Only on FloTrack with a PRO subscription. A yearly PRO subscription provides access to ALL FloSports sites. JOIN NOW
BONUS: Yearly subscribers on any of our sites get access to all premium content throughout our network. On MileSplit.com, Universal subscribers get premium access to all sites. Existing monthly subscribers can upgrade to an annual subscription in their account settings.
The fastest pint-sized race walker on the West Coast -- and nationally -- knows a thing or two about competing.
Reese Gentry scored her second straight AAU Junior Olympic Games championship in the 1500m race walk on Saturday on the first day of the Games, narrowly missing out on a national record by just two seconds with a finishing time of 7:19.29.
The Northridge (California) resident beat second-place Sophia Rankin by over a minute (8:32.34), and the Bronx Race Walk Queen, sixth-place finisher Tiarra Jackson, by over two minutes.
Had Gentry recorded a national record, it would have been her second straight. A year ago, she posted a time of 7:46.29 in the 10-year-old division.
Get this: all she could think about afterward was technique.
"It's a really fast cadence and it's really hard to keep up," Gentry said of the event. "So you have to always think of your fast cadence and your hands and whether you're lifting or if you're going too hard. It's a challenge."
But Gentry has experience, too.
She practices with her dad on weekdays in the neighborhood; he jogs while she perfects her racewalk form.
"It's fun bonding and it's really, really nice," she said.
She even competes with her brother, Cole, who's three years older. When she goes out to events -- Cole's at home for this one, she says -- she uses him as motivation.
"[His time] was my goal," she said. "I used to look up to him, but now I'm training with him."
As for the question of who's faster?
"We usually tie," she says, "but sometimes I go faster."
If Saturday was any indication, Gentry is in store for much more success down the road.
She's still 11. And while she likes breaking records, it's not such a big deal, either.
"[Breaking a record] is a goal every single time," she said. "But sometimes it doesn't matter. It just matters if you try your hardest."
How to Watch The 2017 AAU Junior Olympic Games
On TV: Available on Roku and Apple TV 4 — download the FloSports app now.Streaming: Only on FloTrack with a PRO subscription. A yearly PRO subscription provides access to ALL FloSports sites. JOIN NOW
BONUS: Yearly subscribers on any of our sites get access to all premium content throughout our network. On MileSplit.com, Universal subscribers get premium access to all sites. Existing monthly subscribers can upgrade to an annual subscription in their account settings.
- MileSplit now offers Club Rankings, the definitive guide to the 2017 boys and girls outdoor leaders in every track and field event.