Sky Brown, Preston Janac and Journi Janac practice running track for hours six days a week at Miami’s Gould’s Park.
They had been preparing for the Junior Olympics in Detroit for three years, had qualifying stats and were all ranked in the top five nationally.
Their dedication proved to be beneficial, as Brown placed second in the 1500 meter and Preston came in fifth in the 1500 meter event.
The cost of the trip makes it difficult for some families to pay for their kids to travel, Gould’s Panthers Track Club Coach David Jacque said before the event. However, they were able to fundraise and received the support of other families to make participating realistic.
“One of the challenges is coming up with the funds for these kids to go,” Jacque said. “[It’s] challenging for their parents…often times because they are not well off financial.”
The last time Brown and her teammates qualified for the competition, her mom collected donations for the Gould’s Panthers from co-workers and borrowed the rest.
The three were hoping to fundraise to cover flight, hotel, entrance fee and local transportation costs. A gofundme for Brown had been created to help those fundraising efforts.
