Courtesy of Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Olympics
When Dawn Harper was in sixth grade, she says, Jackie Joyner-Kersee pulled her aside at track practice and said, “I see something special in you.” That moment stuck. Harper went on to run track at East St. Louis High School and the University of California, Los Angeles, and today the heptathlete’s coach is Bob Kersee, Jackie’s husband. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Harper won gold in the 100-meter hurdles. This summer, she flies to London to compete in the 2012 Olympics.
How’s this Olympics different than last time?
Sometimes it can seem overwhelming because you’re the defending champion, you’re not just Dawn Harper… I just want to enjoy the journey.
Do you have a prerace ritual?
[Laughs.] Whatever plan I had beforehand [at the ’08 Olympics], Bobby chucked it out the window. I remember warming up before the finals. I went maybe one time over [the first and second hurdles], and Bobby said, “Come here. Sit down. You’re ready.” I was like, “What?! This is outrageous.” Everyone else is running over hurdles, and I’m sitting down… There’s a song by Lupe Fiasco that goes, “If you are what you say you are, a superstar, then have no fear...” I just kept singing that song—I looked crazy probably… But I remember thinking, “I am ready to run this race.”
Has life changed since winning gold?
It changed like crazy, especially at home. It was like, “Mom, don’t tell anybody I’m here, because everyone wants autographs and pictures.” But the biggest part was getting the contract from Nike, so I could just run—I didn’t have to have side jobs, and I could just go after my dream. When I got my first uniform, it was like being a kid at Christmas.
Do you plan to move back to St. Louis some day?
There is an understanding among those who know me that the last track meet of my career, no matter where it is, I am flying directly from there to St. Louis.
