Candace Hill, The Fastest Junior Female Sprinter Ever

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Photo of Candace Hill, ©2015 Steve Strother / MyTrackPix

Earlier this summer, Candace Hill became the first high school girl to run a sub 11-second 100m sprint at the Brooks PR Invitational. Her outstanding athletic excellence as well as high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field is reminiscent of Arthur Ashe, who graduated valedictorian of his high school class.

Hill just finished her sophomore year at County High School in Conyers, GA. However, she achieved a feat that only a handful of world-class female track athletes ever accomplished in their careers. Hill set a world junior record by breaking the 11-second barrier in the 100m, clocking a staggering 10.98 seconds (+2.0m/s). Hill was also named as the 2014-15 Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Hill now claims the title of world’s fastest junior (under 20) in the 100m and is ranked number 10 worldwide among women of all ages.

Hill started running track in seventh grade and Venson Elder, who has coached Hill since eighth grade, applauds her limitless capacity for improvement and accomplishment. “She has improved a great deal over the past two years. I see her getting better every week,” said Elder.

Furthermore, the 16-year-old athletic star excels in her studies with a weighted 4.61 GPA. She is also a member of her school’s Junior Beta Club and serves as an ambassador on behalf of the Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology.

“My parents, especially my mom, always stressed academics on my sister and me,” said Hill. It is certain that this prodigy will continue to succeed both athletically and academically when she goes back to school as a junior this fall.