DENVER-
Jeremy Rankin applied for a passport just in case. And when it arrived earlier this week, the 16-year old high school track star took it as a good omen.
Rankin found out Wednesday he’ll be putting his passport to good use after being named to the Team USA roster for the World Youth Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, July 11-15. Rankin is one of 31 athletes and the only Coloradan selected for Team USA, a roster based in part on how the athletes performed at required events throughout 2006.
Rankin will run the 100- and 200-meter races for the squad.
“I’m honored to represent the USA,” said Rankin, a sophomore at Overland High School.
Rankin has had quite the spring. He finished first in the 100 (10.32 seconds) at the Colorado Class 5A high school track meet last Saturday. He also took second in the 200 (21.36).
“I had a really good day,” said Rankin, who finished second in the 100 at the state meet his freshman year. “I couldn’t have asked for much more.”
Even better, though, is that his track coach, Bill Edwards, has given him a well-deserved week’s vacation from training. Edwards coaches a local track club—the Colorado Overland Express—after the high school season.
“We’re kind of beat down from the season,” said Rankin, who lives in Aurora, Colo. “It’s been a good season. My goal right now is to keep improving.”
Rankin broke a 19-year-old meet record in the 100-meter intermediate boys race (10.51) at the National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships in Baltimore last July.
Rankin had a good feeling after that race he’d make the squad. That’s why he submitted the paperwork for his passport.
“I’ve been working hard for this,” he said.
Rankin has a loss to thank for his motivation on the track. He still remembers losing at a middle-school track meet in seventh grade. The loss drove him to train every day that summer to improve. Rankin hasn’t been beaten much since.
“I’m a competitor,” Rankin said. “I’m working every day to get better.”
He even sacrificed football for track. He was a strong safety his freshman year at Overland High, but decided track was his future.
“He’s at the level he’s at because of his work ethic,” Edwards said. “I’ve coached kids with talent, but he’s determined. He’s dedicated. Track is his first love.”
