“She’s a Terrible Terrible Person”: Winning Gold in 2008 Olympics, Dawn Harper-Nelson Lists Her Training Camp Influences

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ByDivya Purohit

Mar 23, 2024 | 9:33 PM EDT

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“It is almost surreal to think that I had managed to win an Olympic gold medal on my first attempt having dreamt of winning an Olympic title since I was a little girl growing up in East St Louis,” said Dawn Harper-Nelson after everything worked out for her. The route to Harper’s athletic glory came straight after her NCAA honors.

While the world praised her for becoming the first American ever to win gold at an Olympic medal in the event, Harper later described the “mental struggle” and eventually learned to joke around feeling inferior while training in 2008. In a recent podcast appearance, she narrated the same.

Dawn Harper-Nelson on mining for gold results

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Dawn Harper-Nelson’s first Olympic gold medal came after struggling as a professional and working three jobs to make ends meet. She discussed it in the latest episode of the Ready Set Go podcast alongside Justin Gatlin and Rodney. “Two-time world champion Michelle Perry she had been undefeated for three years okay..all 5 06 07 so and then I come in really pro at 07 uh then you had…see she is a terrible terrible person…no I’m just playing,” said Dawn Harper joking about the high standard set by athletics elites in the 2008 training camp.

Harper’s 2008 season got off to a bad start when she needed arthroscopic surgery following an injury just before the start of the outdoor season. But four months later, in the U.S. Olympic Trials, she made her first Olympic team by barely missing third place by 0.007 s. She also struggled to secure sponsorship for the 2008 Olympics. So she wore spikes that injured two-time world champion Michelle Perry gave her.

Harper carried out the medal haul at the 2012 London Olympic final, making history by running down the entire field, lowering her personal best time, and tying the Olympic record of 12.37—sadly, just.02 seconds short of the gold. However, Harper’s unexpected victory came amid crushing losses to the US Olympic track and field team favorites.

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Journey on and beyond the tracks

Harper-Nelson began running at the age of 12 but wasn’t introduced to 100m hurdles until her 8th grade. Nelson trained under famed track coaches Nino Fennoy and Bob Kersee when she pursued her track career at East St. Louis Senior High School and UCLA. Later, in April 2018, she declared that it would be her final season. “Since I was a child, there were always three things I wanted: to be an Olympic gold medalist, a wife, and a mother,” she told Reuters.

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In November 2019, she announced her return to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and even postponed to conceive the second time in 2021. But changed her career path, becoming a public speaker, a track and field broadcaster, and a consultant for college athletic departments. The next year, she welcomed her second daughter and even today continues to be a strong voice in the athletics community.

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