Texas Relays: Who Is Akala Garrett? The 18-Year-Old Daughter of Former Track Athlete LaSonja Collins Who Followed Family Legacy

Running is in the DNA of Akala Garrett. Daughter of the renowned track star LaSonja Collins, Garrett has grown up to be a star. And she is just 18! Born on May 10, 2005, Garrett took her first lessons from her mother, LaSonja Collins herself. However, her first major break came after she started taking track and field seriously once Garrett got admitted to Harding University High School in Charlotte. Since then, there has been no looking back. 

Announcing her arrival in commanding fashion, Akala Garrett clinched the title of Gatorade’s North Carolina Girls Track and Field Player of the Year for two consecutive years (2021 & 2022). And now, her recent shenanigans on the track are hinting towards her potential path to greatness, probably even eclipsing her mother. 

Akala Garrett might overshadow LaSonja Collins

If being a Junior World Championship gold medal winner was not enough, Akala Garrett has now registered her first win in the 400m hurdle. Running in the recently held Texas Relays, Garrett clocked an incredible 56.19s to beat Sydni Townsend, who finished with 56.36s. However, while the world might marvel at this success, all of this did not happen overnight. Akala Garrett has oozed class and talent right from her childhood. 

Training from the age of 9, Garrett matured faster by competing with athletes older than her. This is why she takes her track and field journey much more seriously than anyone of her age. In what was an incredible test of character, the 18-year-old faltered in the first half of a 100m race at the state championships. To everyone’s surprise, Garrett overcame the sluggishness and won the race clocking 13.43s, seventh fastest among the US females. 

Since then, the accolades did not stop coming. Back in 2021, Garrett recorded a national best of 58.05s at the Eugene USA Track & Field Nationals. Soon after this, she followed it up by clinching three state 4A races while competing in the 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles, and 4×200 relay. In fact, her fast emergence as a prominent figure has made her mother make some bold claims. 

Speaking about her future possibilities, Collins commented, “I just get excited that because she’s a better athlete than me and even though I was a sprinter [and] I was good at what I did, she does more than what I’ve done.” Collins even went on to say that the versatility that Garrett brings makes her wonder if she had some of her daughter’s abilities back in her running days. Elated by her daughter’s success story, LaSonja Collins also reflected on the maturity level of Akala Garrett. 

LaSonja Collins speaks about Akala’s maturity and more

Having qualified for the Athens Olympics, Collins knows a thing or two about handling pressure. However, the mental maturity of Garrett is something that Collins treasures highly. Back in 2021, she commented, “Mentally, as far as age on the track, she’s not a sophomore, she’s running on the senior level… She’s really running on a freshman college level, to be honest.”

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LaSonja Collins also detailed how she prepares her daughter to remain upbeat and unfazed in the face of challenges. Detailing her training motto Collins said, “We teach in practice anything can happen, and if something goes wrong, your job is to finish and execute what you know you can do, and everything else will take care of itself. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.” Thus, with wings spread wide, Akala Garrett is now waiting to take off, ready to soar high above the track and field realms of greatness. 

Continue to read: Texas Relays: Who is Elizabeth Leachman? The 16-Year-Old Track and Field Athlete to Break 5000M Record