She came, she saw and she gained numerous fans mainly schoolchildren which, to US hurdler Kristi Castlin, was her biggest joy when she visited the Land of Many Waters last week. Castlin’s hectic, three-day visit, saw her paying a courtesy call on Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony. She also visited the synthetic track at Leonora and several schools around the city. She also consented (quite willingly) to grant this newspaper’s Sports Editor Donald Duff an interview which will be done in two parts. Part one follows.
DD: – How do you find Guyana so far.
KS:-I really like it. I really love the people here. Everyone has been so nice and welcoming to me.The food (emphasis on the word food) has been so good. Everything I’ve had has been really good so I’m excited. Tomorrow (last Friday) I get to go out in the city so I get to meet more of the local people and interact with the people more so I’m really excited about that.
DD: – And the reason for your visit.
KC:-The reason for my visit really is to bring education and awareness to not only the sport of track and field, but how important it is to be healthy along with working out, along with intertwining education and athletics which is very important that is how I got my start, how my career got going was because I got a scholarship to Virginia Tech which I got my education then I turned Pro, so opportunities like this were brought up because of not only athletics but education also.
DD:-And your visit was made possible through the US Embassy here.
KC:-Yes Bobby (Robert Adelson Jr, Public Relations Officer US Embassy, Georgetown) reached out to me via Twitter, we set up everything, the funding, the flights and everything like that so it was a very smooth transition.
DD:-And from here what.
KC:-From here I go back to Atlanta to start training. I’m starting my training for the 2015 track and field season and I’m preparing for the World Championships which will be in Beijing, China.
DD: – How long have you been in track and field
KC: – I’ve been in track and field now for about 12 years. I started doing track when I was 13-years-old as a freshman in what we would call High School.
DD: – And do you find it rewarding so to speak.
KC: – It’s very rewarding. It’s definitely, I don’t want to say it’s one of those sports where one would say you always get what you deserve or your hard work always pays off, but when it does pay off, it pays off in a big way and you appreciate it more. There’s not a lot of short-term success. All the success that you have in our sport you have to really, really work hard for it.
DD:-Is there a story behind your involvement in track and field.
KS:-Well in the US I was always in physical education (PE) that’s required in our schools. So we will always have something called Field Day. So I always won a lot of ribbons. I was very competitive and I love to work hard so a lot of people referred me and recommended that I participate on the track team in school. I was just a young girl. I did Cheerleading of course, before I started doing track, so I really had a good personality. I was in the Drama School and all that so I was happy that I started track. It really helped me concentrate that competitiveness that I’ve always had.
DD:-Why hurdles
KC: – Hurdles was to be different. I’m always one person I never want to blend in. I never want to do everything that everyone else is doing so that’s why I chose the hurdles. So many girls do the 100, the 200 the 400m but there only a select group of girls that do the hurdles. Because hurdlers’ are really like the crème-de-la-crème because, not only can we do hurdles, we can also do 100, 200, 400 and triple jump. We’re equipped to do all of those things.
DD: – Have you ever met Gail Devers and has she played any part in your career so far.
KC: – I met Gail Devers recently, this year actually. She came, I won a track meet in Atlanta. She was very nice. She gave me some great tips, great information. She lives in Atlanta. She’s always been there for me and reached out. She gave me her personal number, she’s such an inspiration because I really like her attitude. She really knows how to channel that competitiveness and that great energy so I have a lot of respect for Gail.
DD:-And I notice earlier this year you stopped Brianna Rollins’ unbeaten streak of 35 race wins what was that like.
KC: – It wasn’t about be beating her winning streak. She’s a very, very nice girl. She’s very humble and I really just wanted to step on the track that day and do my very best. I had a little chip on my shoulder, a little adversity because, like I said, a lot of times I feel like I don’t get the respect that I deserve so that day I had to come in and show people `hey I’m here, you’re gonna respect me and I’m not going anywhere.’”
DD:-So apart from the 2015 season what are your immediate goals or plans.
KC:-My immediate goal this season not really just making the team, is to set a Personal Best. Last year I opened up the season running 12.58s which was so close to my Personal Best. so I had a toe injury this past year, I had a foot injury the year before that so this year I’m starting Yoga, Pilates, I’m really doing things to make sure that I stay healthy all season and I think if I stay 100 per cent for the entire season, I’m going to run very fast.
DD:-What is your impression of international track and field; general impression.
KC: – Well, my impression of it is that what I can admire most is that most other countries aside from Jamaica that’s really deep they really put their athletes on a pedestal they get behind their athletes; they support them; they’re mega stars; so I’d like to see that more in the US where really just because we’re so deep we still deserve that star treatment we still deserve the love that I got at the primary school today. It was beyond me because in the States (US) I can’t get that. I don’t get that kind of love and appreciation for what I do so sometimes, I’m just in awe at how international sports stars are treated in their countries.
DD: – I really thought that track and field was really a big thing in the US. I’m surprised to hear that. I was of the opinion that once you are an international track star you would get a lot of fans all over the World and a lot of hero worshipping.
KC:-I personally feel that I have more fans all over the World than I may have in the US and that’s only because the market is flooded. In the US right now we have six of the top 10 hurdlers in the World. There’s so many girls and then we have to compete with so many other stars like LeBron James and Cam Newton and Serena Williams. There’s so many other people where internationally the sport is more appreciated one, and two, the selection is very limited. You know I said six out of 10, so there’s only four other countries can break the top 10 in the World in the hurdles. So everywhere else is welcoming us with open arms because they’ve never seen that level of competition in their countries.
To be continued
(Caption) US Hurdler Kristi Castlin poses with top male and female athletes of the North Georgetown Primary School. (Photo courtesy of Robert Adelson)
