(Sports Spectrum) As a track star for Hartselle (Ala.) High School, Quanesha Burks won 11 state championships and set seven school records. In 2013, she won the Class 5A title in the 100 meters, long jump and triple jump. It all helped her earn a full-ride scholarship to the University of Alabama.
All the while, she also worked at McDonald’s.
In a recent story for Sports Illustrated, Burks detailed how she worked at the fast-food restaurant to help pay for her grandmother’s car insurance. She did this from 4-10 p.m. on weekdays, after track practice, as well as in the mornings on weekends. During the week she would also drive her grandmother to work each morning at 4:30 a.m., and then her sisters to their schools.
On June 26, Burks’ years of hard work paid off when she booked a trip to the Tokyo Olympics. She finished third in the long jump at the U.S. Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore., to earn her spot, setting a personal best of 6.96 meters in the fifth round of the long jump finals.