As I heard the roar of the crowd, I stepped onto the podium and received my second gold medal. There were mixed emotions, words could not describe what I was feeling; excitement, gratefulness, joy..... My name is Charisma Taylor and this is my story.
        As a result of growing up in a home with three brothers, my competitive spirit was inevitable. My brothers swam competitively and played soccer. Sports was a way of life in the Taylor household, so for me, competitive sports was a no brainier. I could not escape it. At the age of three I started swimming because I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my brothers who were competitive swimmers. However, at the age of seven after a scary competitive swim meet I decided that I wanted to do track & field and play soccer.
         At 8 years old I made my very first national team which was C.U.T in Tortula, B.V.I. My second national team was Carifta in Martinique in 2014. Where I beat 1 person out of a field of about 15 people. I also made the Jr. CAC team in Mexico that same year where I finished 4th overall in the triple jump and the hurdles and ran the third leg of the winning 4 by 100m relay team. I was a member of the Carifta team that traveled to St. Kitts in 2015. There, I won gold medals in the long and triple jump. In the summer of 2015, I went to the World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia where I was a semi finalist in the 100m hurdles.
         I have been a member of Club Monica Athletics from the age of 7 to date, under the direction of coach Dianne Woodside. In 2014, after I expressed an interest in jumping, Coach James Rolle of the Leap of Faith club also took me under his wing and became my triple jump and long jump coach.
        There are two professional athletes that I admire most. They are, Leevan Sands and Sanya Richards Ross. Just like them I would like to compete and medal in the olympics.  I hope to receive a university scholarship and study culinary arts. One day, I will own one of the most famous pastry shops and become the "cake boss" of my generation.
         I would like to take this opportunity to firstly thank God for the gift he has given me; my parents, Patrice and Dewey Taylor; my brothers, Zion, Danté and Tré; my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and my dog "Patches" for their love and support. They are my biggest fans. I would also like to thank my coaches, Dianne Woodside and James Rolle for their dedication and commitment to developing the gifts in me.
        At the 2016 Carifta Games in Grenada, I won the triple jump and I expect to be one of the top medal contenders in the hurdles, triple jump and long jump at the World Juniors this summer.
       I believe that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,  so I will continue to work hard in order to achieve my goal of medaling at the World Juniors this summer. The journey continues...

Charisma Taylor