Do you prefer basketball or track and field? Joe Walker, the Ole Miss track and track coach and a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, was pushing hard for track-and-field. He found support in Carla Young, Reese’s mom. Young, a single mother of three girls, believed that her middle child could be more in control of her destiny as a runner and jumper. Young said, “I just reminded Brittney how basketball is dependent on your teammates.” Track and field is a sport where you can depend only on yourself. You have complete control. Brittney Reese heard. The rest is amazing history. Next month, Reese will be 33 years old. She was an SEC and NCAA Champion at Ole Miss. She is also an eight-time United States long jumping champion, a five time world champion, and the 2012 Olympic golf gold medalist. She won her sixth USA Outdoor Long Jump title. She will be competing in the 2019 World Championships, Doha, Qatar, in late September. Reese splits her time between training for the World Championships and next year’s Olympics, and raising Alex Wildee, her 11-year old son whom she adopted three-years ago. Reese was the godson of Wildee, the child of one of her childhood friends. She hopes to give Alex the same love and guidance as her mother. You wouldn’t believe it! Alex is also an athlete. Alex won the long jump title at a major junior meet in San Diego. His mother trains there. Reese laughs and says that Reese believes he will have more medals than I. He’s still far from his goal, but he has a lot of work ahead. Mississippi has a long and proud history of producing world-class long jumping champions, male and female. Ralph Boston of Laurel won three Olympics medals in three consecutive Olympics: a gold, a Silver and a Bronze. Larry Myricks, Clinton, was a four time world champion. Willye B. White of Money competed in multiple events in five Olympics. She won the silver medal for the long jump in Melbourne as a high school sophomore. The U.S. will be represented in the long jump at world championships in Qatar by Tori Bowie who is the current world champion sprinter. Reese is approaching the end of a long and successful career that has seen her win more international medals than any other track and field legend. When asked how long she will continue competing, she replies “I don’t know yet.” I still love training. For the most part, I enjoy working out. However, the aches and achy don’t disappear as quickly as they used too. It’s not as simple to get out of bed each morning. We’ll watch how it turns out in Qatar …” This summer, Reese and her coach slowed down their training. Reese claims she was only at “80 percent” of her best when she won the U.S. Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. She says, “Right now I’m working to that other 20%.” She is also involved in Alex’s upbringing, coaching his youth track and cross country team twice a week, as well as her own training. Reese said that Alex has some talent. “I told him that I would not coach him unless it was something he was willing to do. So far, so good. He wants to win. He is a good boy.” He also inspires her to compete in the world championships. Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympic Games next July. Reese states, “I would like to be a part of one more Olympics.” Alex should be there. “I want Alex to have it.”