Candace Hill, 17, lives in Conyers. She’s a sophomore at Rockdale County High School, and she’s the fastest high school runner in the state. You won’t, however, be reading about her bid for a state championship this year in track. It’s not that she couldn’t win a state title. She would almost certainly win every race she entered. Hill isn’t just the fastest teen in Georgia; she’s the fastest female teen of all time. And Hill is now a pro, a member of ASICS professional team, and can no longer compete in high school competition.
Last year, Hill became the first female teen to break the 11-second mark in the 100 meters. She ran a 10.98 at the Brooks PR Invitational in Washington in June of 2015. Her historic run completely altered the course of her future. Shortly after breaking the 11-second mark, Gatorade named Hill the National Girl’s Track and Field Athlete of the Year. In so winning, she joined Marion Jones as the only sophomore to ever win the award. Two weeks later, Hill earned a spot in the 2015 World Youth Championships in Colombia. She didn’t turn in another sub-11 second performance at the world championships; however, she still took first place in the 100 meters. Hill also won the 200 meters as well.
After winning the world championships, Hill decided to turn pro. By doing so, she would be forfeiting the opportunity to run in high school or college competitions. She signed a 10-year contract with ASICS and became a professional sprinter before she had even had her driver’s license for a year.
A relative late-comer to the track, she didn’t start running until she was in the seventh grade. Hill progressed quickly and broke several state records as a freshman. Then came her record-setting performance as a sophomore. The early success has her pursuing her ultimate goal – the Olympic Games – about four years early. Hill will likely seek a spot on the Olympic team for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. Will she make it? It’s a long shot, but if her recent success is any indicator, she has as good a shot as anybody.
Candace Hill. Remember the name. You’re going to be hearing it a lot more going forward.
* CNN.com and Wikipedia.org contributed to this story.
Column/South Georgia/March 2016
The fastest teen of all time just turned pro – at 16 years old
Robert Preston Jr.
