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BOSS' Rising Stars Keynote Speaker, Olympic Hopeful Kayla Bushey

"When I say I'm like you, I mean it. I'm in the middle of my journey, just like you - a Rising Star. I am here today to remind you that what you want to do isn't crazy. Your goals, desires, dreams, and vision are uniquely yours. It's special, you should treat it that way, and I promise it will not be easy all the time, but you will find your path. If you want to stun the world and do something they say you can't do - you already have that power within you to do something crazy.

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So I'll leave you with this - be crazy, be the first, create the path you want to succeed, and let people follow you. My name is Kayla Bushey, and I'm going to the Olympics - sounds crazy, doesn't it?"

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Meet Olympic Hopeful Kayla Bushey

We were honored this year to have US Olympic Track & Field Hopeful, Kayla Bushey as our keynote speaker for BOSS" Rising Stars Celebration of Hope.

 

Kayla Bushey, an Augustana College Division III alumni athlete, standing at a mere 5’5 is shaking up the track and field world as an aspiring elite triple jumper training to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The triple jump, argued to be one of the most physically demanding athletic events in Olympic history, is an incredible track and field event where the athlete takes a hop, skip, and jump finishing into a sand pit. The usual person competing in this event has completed years of training in jumps at an elite level, is tall, and lean, and has a few national titles before stepping into the Olympic arena.

Donate to Send Kayla to the Olympics

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Kayla has always been an accomplished athlete and a passionate hard worker. Through her experiences in college as a heptathlete, coined a workhorse but had to stop due to a shoulder injury. So she thought… why not switch events? Reaching her senior year of college, she realized she hadn’t tapped into her full athletic potential and decided to work for her dream of an athletic profession and be a record holder in the track and field world with her sights set on the triple jump. As a multi-sport athlete since she was six, this is the first time she is concentrating on one event and training through a full-time schedule. A bold move considering the event was not something she focused on in college and her mark in the triple jump compares to top-ranked high schoolers since her last performance. After four years of training, she increased her mark by 4 feet and is now a contender on the national stage.

 

This upcoming 2023 will be her debut performance for a triple jump on an elite stage and she hopes to inspire others, showing that this is possible, that women are prominent and can be just as exciting to watch as men.

The shift she is creating will push the triple jump in a new direction to show that athletes should not be taught to have limitations, whether it is in a triple jump or their own dream.

 

Kayla is on a mission to help 100,000 athletes unlock their elite potential, show that hard work, willingness to learn, passion, and the right training environment can outweigh the “typical” and break the mold for what a triple jumper is. She started a collection of videos on Instagram through her alter ego @killabushey to have a video diary of her athletic journey from an average athlete who is transitioning to an elite. And to teach others along the way showing the struggles, transformations, and beauty of really going after your dreams.

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As she pursues the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kayla hopes to make a large impact in the way people view not only women’s jumps in track and field but how people view women in the Olympics. Kayla currently lives in the Midwest Quad Cities IA/IL area. Her vision is to continue to build and grow the sport of track and field jumps.

 

"Anyone can become great with the right work ethic, support, and mentality." Kayla Bushey

After placing 5th at the Indoor USATF National Championships (scream!), I am excited to transition to the next phase of my training. The experience at the Championships was invaluable, and I learned a lot about myself and what I need to do to reach the next level.

 

I am excited to share that a performance coach reached out to me to progress my training at a warm-weather training camp in Spain at the elite Tenerife Top Training facility. They have a background in sports science with a focus on performance coaching and fine-tuning the mental side of training. I will be located just 200 meters away from the local track facility that is frequented by professional athletes and amateurs with Olympic aspirations.

 

As an athlete who has been coaching myself for the last few years, I'm looking forward to the fresh perspective and guidance that a new coach can provide. With their experience and expertise, I hope to make significant strides in my performance and reach new levels of success through max testing over the three weeks I am abroad in Spain.

This testing will help us establish a baseline for my mental, strength, and endurance levels, and will provide us with data to track my progress over time. With this information, we can design a training program tailored specifically to my needs, with the goal of optimizing my performance and helping me reach my full potential this upcoming outdoor season. 

 

Moreover, the trip to Spain will allow me to completely focus on being an athlete for the first time since I began this journey in 2016. With the expenses for this training trip being raised, I can put all of my attention towards improving and pushing myself to the next level. This will be a crucial time for me to fine-tune my technique, build my endurance, and develop a winning mindset that will carry me through the rest of the season and beyond.

 

I am confident that this scientific approach will provide me with the tools and knowledge I need to excel as an athlete, and will be a valuable addition to my training regimen. With the help of your support, I will be traveling on March 8th to continue my training and build on the success I achieved at the Championships. The opportunity to train in Tenerife is an incredible one, and I am eager to take advantage of the world-class facilities and resources available there.

 

I am confident that it will help me improve my physical abilities and mental focus. I am committed to working hard every day to become the best athlete I can be and represent my country with pride.

 

Thank you for your continued support as I pursue my dreams. I couldn't do this without you. After returning from Spain, I will travel to Arizona to open up my outdoor season in April. From there, I will have two months to see what I can do next to take a further step into my Olympic journey. I hope to make you proud as I navigate this exciting journey. I know where I am headed, but with your support, I am able to map out the path to get there. 


 

The 3500 covers:

  • Round trip plane ticket to get to Spain

  • Health & Travel Insurance 

  • Room & Board

  • Fueling Food

  • Training Facility Rental

  • Travel Tickets & Vouchers

  • Coaching Fees

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