{"id":16383,"date":"2017-01-01T21:30:19","date_gmt":"2017-01-02T02:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/?p=16383"},"modified":"2017-01-01T21:30:19","modified_gmt":"2017-01-02T02:30:19","slug":"golden-girl-brianna-rollins-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/golden-girl-brianna-rollins-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden Girl: Brianna Rollins \u201913"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nOne, two, three \u2014 jump. One, two, three \u2014 jump. With a fierce face and a breakneck pace, former\u00a0Clemson track standout Brianna Rollins lunged across the finish line.\u00a0A time of 12.48 seconds earned Rollins a gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2016 Summer\u00a0Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August. Right behind her were USA teammates Nia Ali and Kristi\u00a0Castlin in second and third place.\u00a0\u201cIt was awesome feeling to have to my teammates up there on the podium alongside me. We made\u00a0history and I couldn\u2019t have been happier to share it with Nia and Kristi. Kristi and I train together, and\u00a0Nia is a really good friend of mine. [pullquote]It just goes to show you that if women can come together as one we can\u00a0accomplish something huge.\u201d[\/pullquote]
\nAfter catching their breath, the women draped their bodies in three American flags and jumped for joy\u00a0for the cameras and the television crowds back home. It was the first time three American women claimed\u00a0all three medals in a track and field event in the Olympics.
\nRollins isn\u2019t new to claiming victories. In 2011 and 2013 she was the NCAA indoor champion in the\u00a060-meter hurdles, the 2014 NCAA outdoor champion in the 100-meter hurdles, and the 2013 IAAF world\u00a0champion in the 100-meter hurdles while still a student at Clemson. But it wasn\u2019t until her time at\u00a0Clemson that she realized she could compete at an elite level.\u00a0Rollins didn\u2019t begin competing in the sport until she was in high school in her hometown of Miami. In\u00a02012, as a sophomore at Clemson, she made the Olympic Trials. In the next months she earned a win at the\u00a0NACAC Under-23 championships. From there she blossomed into the runner she is today.
\n\u201cAt the 2012 Olympic trials is when I realized I could compete on the professional level. I had the\u00a0second fastest time coming back in the finals at the trials. I finished sixth in the finals but seeing that I was\u00a0competing with the professional and running so close gave me the hope I needed,\u201d she said. \u201cTraining as an\u00a0elite-level athlete is a blessing; it comes with a lot of hard work, sacrifices, commitment, and focus but it is all\u00a0worth it when the reward is being an Olympic champion and an inspiration to those who look up to me.\u201d
\nRollins is the second female from Clemson to win a gold in track and field and the first Clemson athlete\u00a0to win an individual Olympic gold medal since 2004. Kim Graham won a medal as a member of the 4×100-\u00a0meter relay team in 1996 and Shaw Crawford won the 200-meter dash in 2004. Nine athletes from Clemson\u00a0have gone on to win Olympic gold.
\nRollins is currently training for the next 2017 World Championships in London and hopes defend her\u00a0title in Tokyo in the 2020 Olympics.
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