A former McDonald’s employee has already quit to participate in the Olympics.
Kwanesa Burks Currently representing the United States in the long jump competition for the first time in Tokyo.
Before her Olympic debut, Burks assured her social media fans that she came to Tokyo from Alabama all the way to one thing-to win.
“Some boys want Audi rings. Some girls want wedding rings. But these are the rings I want all my life,” Burks wrote Instagram There is a picture of her sitting in the middle of the Tokyo Olympic rings.
Although it is normal for Olympians to desire to win gold medals, Burks’ Olympic journey made her a little special.
Some people may not know, but Burks used to be an employee of McDonald’s and a scholar athlete at the University of Alabama.
“When I worked at McDonald’s, I thought it was the best job ever,” Burks said Sports Illustrated“I make $100 every two weeks. This is terrible, but I am happy to go to work every day. I know this is my whole goal in college.”
“I remember to check the requirements for a full scholarship, and I wrote down these goals,” she added. “I jumped 20 feet and everything changed then.”
Contrary to many people’s assumptions, Burks’ stories are not all fairy tales. Working at McDonald’s from 4pm to 10pm quickly affected her scholarship, because sometimes she had trouble dealing with the practice schedule and his coach could not contact her.
“coach [Miguel] Pate actually had to sit down with my high school coach Kenny Lopez and the counselor so that I could understand how my life would change, and I didn’t need to work at McDonald’s.” The 26-year-old People recalled.
“It feels like all possibilities are not good for me. Once, my coach told me,’I don’t know if your body can participate in the trial training. The doctor doesn’t know if I can come back in time. I went to see some experts, They didn’t have much hope for me. I faced a lot, but I kept going back to when I was working at McDonald’s. I set goals and I knew I could do it.”
Despite the complicated situation, Burks did not quit his job at McDonald’s until he graduated from high school.
While still working, she won 11 state championships in her senior year, including her 100 meters, long jump and triple jump.
Burks’ efforts quickly paid off, and she finally qualified in the prestigious Olympics.
Accept her idea Tik Tok, Burks released a compilation of short films that read “I want to be an Olympian”.
Tokyo 2020 is postponed by the coronavirus pandemic for a year
Photo: AFP/Beruz More
