CELEBRITIES WHO INSPIRE
KEEPING IT REAL
Olympic star Dawn Harper Nelson
values hearth and home
By VICKI BENNINGTON
Photo by Lance Thurman
In addition to her accolades on the track,
two-time Olympic medalist Dawn Harper
Nelson, though progressive, is traditional at
her core.
Dawn won gold at the 2008 Olympics
in Beijing (12.54), and silver at the 2012
Olympics in London (12.37) in the women’s
100-meter hurdles.
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“When I was very young, I told myself that
I would never let track run my life so much
that I didn’t have a whole life. I wanted to be
a wife and mother, too.
“We have a plan,” she said, referring to
herself and husband of two years, Alonzo
Nelson, who was a sprinter and 400-meter
hurdler at Hampton University, then ran
professionally until 2010.
Now living in Los Angeles, Dawn grew up
in East St. Louis, Illinois, beginning her track
career at East St. Louis Senior High School,
where she graduated as a six-time Illinois
High School State Champion. She received
a full athletic scholarship to University of
California Los Angeles, which offers one of
the best 100-meter hurdle programs around,
launching careers of Olympic medalists
Jackie Joyner-Kersee (also from East St.
Louis) and Gail Devers. Kersee’s husband,
Bobby, is currently Dawn’s coach.
Now 31, Dawn hasn’t stopped running. But
early on, she made a vow to herself.
GAZELLE STL
They married at Ameristar in St. Louis,
surrounded by family and friends. Prior to
that, Dawn appeared on TLC’s Say Y to
es
the Dress, when she went to Kleinfelds in
Brooklyn, New York to find her dress.
The Nelsons bought a house in O’Fallon,
Illinois, big enough to raise a family, though
for the next two years, Dawn will continue to
concentrate on her athletic prowess.
“Then it’s family time,” she said.
“It’s going to be intense this year with the
World Championships, and the Olympics
are in 2016. Then there is the 2017 World
Championships,” Dawn said. “After that, we
plan on having children.”
Alonzo teaches math courses at the high
school they both graduated from, and
they’ve known each other since eighth grade,
when he was the only one she couldn’t beat
in hurdles.
“I was mad, but I thought he was cute, and
we became good friends,” Dawn said.
In high school, she dated his best friend.
“Alonzo later told me he knew he liked me
‘like that’ in college, but didn’t say anything,”
Dawn said.
It wasn’t until 2011, when he asked her to
come back to East St. Louis High and speak
about her athletic career that they rekindled
old feelings.