Relatives beamed with pride Friday as Shamier Little, a runner from Chicago, made her Olympic debut at Paris Summer Games and helped Team USA break a world record at the same time.
The team of Chicagoan Shamier Little, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon and Kaylyn Brown completed the four laps Friday in 3 minutes, 7.41 seconds to break the mark of 3:08.80 set last year in the medley 4×400-meter relay.
In her family’s Chicago home, eyes were glued to the television as Little, an alumnus of Lindblom Math and Science Academy, ran with all her might.
Little’s mother and grandmother remembered that as a child she was always moving her feet in their small apartment.
“We had a dog, and every time we went outside, the dog would always chase her and she would run,” said Tiffany Mayfield, her mother.
“She was running around all the time, and just today she’s still running, yeah, and we’re so proud of her,” Little’s grandmother added.
Lindblom was known for his rigorous academics, but not athletics, until Little showed up as a freshman.
“Shamier was my first athlete, and I was just blessed that she has God-given talent,” said her former coach Tasha McCray.
Her high school coach said they didn’t even have hurdles or a track.
So they ran wherever they could.
“So basically, run corridors, gyms, treadmills,” he said. “She was fast, ahead of everyone else, without the bells and whistles of equipment.
After dominating in college, Shamier missed the Olympics twice but continued to work.
“For her to come out of Lindblom and go to the Olympics, it just shows that you just have to put in the time, work and effort,” said Shamier’s brother, Genius Brandon.
On Saturday, she will run the biggest race of her life – with all of Chicago behind her pursuit of gold.