College Admissions Essay: Triple Jump

I hate losing. I hate those “what if I jumped better” or “what if I ran faster” thoughts of regret racing through my mind. I’ve been an athlete all my life, and by being an athlete it’s taught me to be a competitor. My competitive side comes out when I am jumping in triple jump. When I step foot on that runway my natural athlete kicks in. My muscles twitch as I repeat in my mind “left, left, right” as I make my way down the runway. It’s hard to explain but the feeling of running as fast as you can and flying though the air is an extreme adrenaline rush. For the past four years triple jump has been my event I hold pride to in track. I see my competition as people I must excel past to remain on top. But what happens when your greatest competitor

is your little sister?

My senior track season taught me how to praise somebody who has the potential of beating me.

I went from anger and hatred to pride and joy, which wasn’t easy to accomplish at first. I’ve always been a competitor when it comes to sports. Although this does not sound humble I am not used to being beat, especially in triple jump. I have placed 8th, 5th, and 2nd at state in the event and have broken the Seneca High School’s triple jump record in my career. The day I saw my sister as my main competitor my first thought was, “she is going to break my record I’ve worked so hard for.” For some reason I couldn’t get my mind past the fact she might actually beat me. To me, my school record I set was something I needed to defend for as long as I possibly could, and I couldn’t let my little sister be the person to break that record. Especially while I was still in high

school.

The Irish Invite my senior year was the track meet that changed my mindset for the rest of the season.

I had arrived to the jumping pits ready to preform my best with my parents standing along the fence cheering for both my sister and I. I was ranked first coming into the event so I knew if I preformed my best jump I would take first place, or so I thought. As I stepped foot on the runway to preform my jump I said good luck to my sister Cora, who then proceeded to stand in line behind me. On my first attempt I jumped 35 feet 8 inches on and was satisfied because it was my farthest jump in the season. As I made my way to the back of the line to preform my second jump I hear the announcer say, “35 feet 2 inches.” Shocked that somebody was jumping almost as far as I had I turned around to see who jumped, and it was Cora. At that moment my adrenaline kicked in, and so did my sister’s. I hopped right back in line with a mindset to make my next jump unreachable. As I anticipated what the measured jump would say I was anxious, “36 ft 3 inches.” A sigh of relief hit me because I knew that was half an inch under my school record and my sister had only one jump left. Cora made her way down the runway with victory on her mind, and when she hit the sandpit I looked the other way scared of what the measurement might be. “36 feet flat” the announcer broadcasted. With that being said a giant smile streaked across Cora’s face, as a giant frown draped down mine. Her jump was too close for

comfort in my mind, and my face had displeasure written all over it. The night ended with two successful sisters walking our separate ways.

For days Cora and I didn’t speak one word to each other. Our time spent around one another consisted of discrete glares and slamming doors. I didn’t know how to react with my sister two years younger than me being my toughest competition. I felt a sense of embarrassment that I was almost beat by her. I began to question if I was even good at triple jump given the fact that she was so close to beating me. The fact that we weren’t socializing with one another made the situation even harder to handle. About four days after the track meet my parents had enough of our childish ways. They both sat us down and made us resolve our problems with one another. At that moment it occurred to me that I was hating my own sister. Somebody who has been with me all my life. She had been my greatest supporter and here I was disrespecting her for excelling in a sport that we both love. It was at that moment my mindset of seeing her as competition changed to seeing her as a teammate I love and respect.

Cora and I both made it to the state finals in triple jump. Within that time, I learned to praise and congratulate her for her accomplishments on and off the track. I came to realize records are made to be broken, and I have no control over defending those records after my four years of high school were up. At the state finals I had the honor and great joy of placing at state on the podium with my little sister as she took 9th and I took 2nd. On that day and to this day I am still just as proud to have her by my side.