PEWAUKEE -- We are less than one month away from the Olympic games!
A 19-year-old from Pewaukee is one step closer to her dream of representing Team USA.
Jadin O'Brien. Remember her name.
This stand-out athlete is one of 18 women competing to represent Team USA in the women's heptathlon. A heptathlon is made up of seven different track and field events. The top three finishers this weekend make it to the Olympics.
"So for the first day it's the hurdles, high jump, shot put, and 200m. The second day it's the long jump, javelin, and 800m."
Her six siblings and parents could not be more excited as they gear up from home.
Her mother Leslie says she knew something was special about Jadin's abilities, even as a little girl.
"I swear I always say she came out running from the get-go. Ever since they were little, they were doing some kind of hurdling thing we would do it down in the basement," Leslie said.
Jadin remembers this fondly, "I remember we had these little blocks they were like building blocks and she used to set them up and she would say, 'Okay Jadin, run over them!'"
From junior high to today as a freshman at Notre Dame, she has come a long way.
There have been setbacks, such as having to work out on her own at times in this pandemic. She says she also tore a leg muscle right before a competition.
"If I can run in below-zero weather and I can overcome a torn quad in big events, there's not a whole lot standing in my way."
She does not have to look far for support from home.
"I just want her to enjoy and soak it in," said her mom Leslie O'Brien.
Her father Kevin O'Brien adds, "What you focus on happens, so let's focus on the good."
"I remember thinking as a kid 'I wanna be like them' because they were so great. My dad played for the NFL. My mom had the high school record in Ohio for most races won. I want to make it to the Olympics. I've had that dream since seven. I knew that greatness doesn't happen, you got to work for it."
Keep an eye out for this rising star, who is another source of pride for Pewaukee.
Jadin's trials will take place in Eugene, Oregon this Saturday and Sunday.
TMJ4 News is your official station for the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
