McAllen’s Jordan Gray champions women’s inclusion in Olympic decathlon

Decathlete Jordan Gray of McAllen is fighting for women’s participation in the Olympic decathlon.

McALLEN – Jordan Gray has never taken too kindly to being told she cannot do something.

When she was just a year old, she indicated to her dad that she wanted to try the pull-up bar after watching him work out. He lifted her up so her tiny hands could grip the bar and said, “I bet you can’t do a pull-up.”

“He said I started gritting my teeth, straining, turning purple, trying to pull myself up,” Gray said. “It’s my personality. I’ve just always been that way. The ‘you can’t do this’ statement has always been a trigger for me.”

Gray, 25, trains in the decathlon — a track and field event that combines 10 other events, all runs, jumps and throws — making it one of the most challenging endeavors in athletics. Although a latecomer to the sport, it is safe to say she is one of the elite decathletes in the world.

She holds the highest score of any woman currently active. She set the American record and has produced the third highest score ever recorded in women’s decathlon. She has even set a world record in the long jump, a decathlon event.

One might expect to see her compete in the decathlon for Team USA in this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. But that will not happen. Why?

“I’m a girl,” she said.

Click to see the rest of this awesome and in-depth article in the Brownsville Herald.