Heart pounding, Genesis Dixon gets into place waiting for the sound of the gun to signal her to start running. Although track was not her first sport, or even her top sport until now, Dixon will be attending the University of Kentucky to compete at the Division I level.
Dixon started running when she was 10-years-old, even though karate and basketball originally caught her attention. Dixon said she wanted to be like her dad who ran in college, so her mom found her a summer track team and Dixon was hooked.
“I wanted to play basketball at first but coaches had told me to stick to one sport,” Dixon said. “They said having multiple sports can affect your performance. I was young so I took in everything they told me and I stuck with track.”
After listening to everything her coaches told her, Dixon stuck to one sport, track, and this dedication resulted in her being committed. Even though her coaches saw her talent a long time ago, Dixon didn’t see it in herself until the track and field state meet when she won the 100m hurdles.
“I [thought I] was in second place when I was in the race,” Dixon said. “Everyone was like ‘Genesis won’ and I thought ‘no I didn’t’ and I had to realize I did.”
Dixon said getting offers from various schools and taking official tours made her realize that this was something she could pursue. Dixon has also thought about going pro. While this is still far away, she said the Olympics and going pro is always in the back of her mind.
Even though Dixon has an exciting future ahead of her, she still is thankful for the track program here at KHS. Dixon says she wouldn’t have all of these amazing opportunities without the Kirkwood track program.
“[Kirkwood track and field] has taught me how to be mentally tough,” Dixon said. “Sometimes other programs don’t encourage athletes to be confident. Coach McWoods always says it is 10% physical 90% mental and [that] makes me believe in myself.”
“I wasn’t a stellar student, but I was an athlete. I was a wrestler. I was too short to play basketball and too small to play football. I also played tennis. I was more artistically inclined. After high school I went to a community college, and I took one course in photography and I was blown away. I wasn’t good at sculpture, drawing or painting but photography enabled me to show the world as it really is and also be very subjective, depending on where I pointed the camera and how I developed the picture. That became my career after Vietnam. I was a photojournalist for the LA Times. That career taken me around the world to 35 countries including more wars after Vietnam.”
