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Former McDonald’s employee makes it to US Olympic Team [Video]

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  • Quanesha Burks was a former McDonald’s employee who needed to work to pay for college.
  • She went through a series of challenges that honed her to be better in athletics.
  • Her persistence and confidence had finally helped her make it to the Olympics!

Quanesha Burks just couldn’t explain her happiness when she finally made it to the Olympics, especially after “facing so much.”

Quanesha was a former McDonald’s employee who worked at the fast-food chain to help her family financially and save for college.

When friends encouraged her to get into athletics, specifically basketball and track, Quanesha realized that sports could also get her to school.

“I remember looking up the requirements to earn a full scholarship and I wrote those goals down. I jumped 20 feet and that’s when everything changed,” she said.

Soon after, Quanesha’s potential was recognized by college coaches, but her schedule was tight given her stint at McDonald’s. Fortunately, they were willing to wait for her. Events soon led her to her destiny: sports.

With 11 state titles — including ones in the 100 meters, long jump, and triple long jump sweep — Quanesha graduated high school. She was able to go to Alabama University, making her the first in her family to go to college.

Photo Credit: 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships/Wikimedia Commons

In 2015-2016, she won NCAA long jump titles. However, things weren’t always in her favor. In 2018, she missed the bronze medal by 1.5 inches, and in 2019, she lost her grandfather a week before the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She competed two days after the funeral, but she did not qualify for the World Championships.

Finally, last year, Quanesha won the US indoor title. This victory looked like the final leg leading to her success in the field, but her femur got injured, which disabled her to compete for 11 long weeks.

Her coaches were doubtful that she would be able to go to trials, but Quanesha didn’t lose heart. She believed she was “going to be an Olympian” and so she shared about her positivity on TikTok.

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“It felt like all the odds were against me. At one point, my coach told me, ‘I don’t know if you’re going to physically be able to go to the trials. The doctors didn’t know if I would be back in time. I was seeing some specialists and they didn’t have much hope in me at all. I was facing so much, but I kept going back to when I worked at McDonald’s. I had my goals set and I knew I could do it,” she said.

Quanesha has reaped the reward of her perseverance and trust. In the fifth round of the qualifying games, she made it to the podium! Her best record of 6.96 meters from that round secured her a spot on the Olympic team.

@quaneshaburks

Reply to @augustixxco The jumped that qualified me for the Olympic Team ????????

♬ original sound – Quanesha Burks

“It’s been a journey and it all started with a little girl working at McDonald’s and here I am,” she shared.

Source: Yahoo News

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