CELEBRITIES WHO INSPIRE
Photo by Jeff Lewis
Though Dawn and Alonzo temporarily have
a long-distance relationship for much of the
year, they’ve learned to make it work.
When they are together – like when he’s off for
the summer – he does much of the cooking.
“I want to cook, and I plan to do it later, but
with my training schedule, he does it,” she said.
“He says it’s enough that he knows I want to
cook, but knows I’m trying to be the best in
the world at something else,” she said with
a laugh.
“Off-season, I cook and do laundry. I love
doing that kind of domestic stuff,” she said.
For now, Dawn’s typical day begins at 8
a.m. when she eats two eggs and heads for
the track at UCLA. She sits on heat packs
to loosen muscles, then spends two hours
running; hurdles twice a week, and spends
90 minutes weight training to build stability,
core strength and control. That’s followed
with three or four hours of physical therapy,
exercise and massage, electrical stimulation
and 20 minutes of hot packs. Sunday and
Wednesday are free, and Saturdays, she runs
on her own.
“I’ve had three knee surgeries – so there’s many
extra things I do,” she said. “I know that’s a real
battle for early athletes. It’s a lot to do.”
But she still loves the challenge and watching
the competitions. And it’s still fun.
“When I flew in for the Olympics to
represent the United States, I felt like all the
sacrifices and dedicated hours were paying
off,” she said. “All of these people believed
in me, and I did it for them. It was very
validating.
“Coach told me to just run. I didn’t look left or
right, so I really didn’t know who won,” she
said. “Finally, someone said, ‘Dawn, you won.’”
Photo by Jeff Lewis
Doors began to open. She has travelled the
world, is sponsored by Nike, and serves as
spokesperson for the American Diabetes
Association. Locally, she is a community
ambassador for United Way of Greater St.
Louis, and supports the Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Foundation.
In addition to starting a family in the future,
she would like to be a sports psychologist,
because she said, professional sports is so
mental – like 90 percent, with 10 percent the
work that goes into it.
For the next couple of years, Dawn said she
and Alonzo will see each other when they
can, and meanwhile, she is so thankful for
iPads and FaceTime, so they can cook dinner
“together,” and record shows like Scandal
and popular movies that they both watch and
discuss - long distance.
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“Sometimes we fall asleep talking with our
iPads on the pillow,” Dawn said. “When you
find ‘the one,’ you know it.”
SAVVY I SOPHISTICATED I SASSY