May 20, 2013
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By Jenna Marina
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Hurdler Sandy Jean made a decision the second she walked through the gate of the UCF track and field complex for the first day of fall workouts in September.
After a year's worth of frustration from a knee injury that sidelined her from competition, Jean vowed to make 2013 "her year."
So when she crossed the finish line at the Conference USA Championship in 57.59 to clinch her first individual gold medal in the 400-hurdles final, Jean couldn't help but reflect on how far she had come.
"At that time last year, I was home in Miami watching the meet on the computer wishing I could even jog," Jean said. "A year later, I'm winning conference and tying the [meet and school] record. It was a blessing."
Jean was raised in a single-parent household along with her older brother. Her mother immigrated to Miami from Haiti and worked long hours seven days a week at an outdoor flea market to provide for her family. That left Jean to spend the majority of her time watching TV after school.
But that changed in middle school when she started participating in any sport that would get her out of the house --- volleyball, softball, track and basketball.
By her junior year of high school, with help from her coach, Carmen Jackson, she began to understand that she had the potential of competing collegiately in track.
When she decided to join UCF's team, Jean became the first member of her family on her mother's side to attend a four-year university. The milestone was not lost on the bubbly sophomore, who has considered how different her life would have been if not for her mother's decision to come to the United States.
"She could have stayed in her country and we could have been raised there, but she wanted to give her children more," Jean said. "She's played a very supportive role in my life as far as me being here."
Jean shined in her freshman year as a 400H bronze medalist and 4x400 relay champion at the 2011 C-USA Outdoor Championships. She competed at the NCAA East Preliminaries and helped UCF qualify for the national championships in the 4x400 relay as a part of the school-record setting quartet.
But an MRI revealed that the nagging pain in her left knee she had been shrugging off during the latter half of the season was actually a tear in her patella tendon. She said sitting out the 2012 season - an Olympic year - while she recovered was devastating. She battled through it from the support of her team and head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert, who playfully dubbed Jean an honorary coach for the season.
"I encouraged them and supported them. I thank her (Smith Gilbert) for that because it just showed me how much I am appreciated on the team, which made me want to fight this year for them," Jean said.
"I'm glad [the injury] happened because it pushed me so much more this year. It made me so much more grateful for my talent because it makes me who I am. Because I am blessed with it, I have to give it my all, otherwise I'll regret it and say shoulda, coulda, woulda. I don't want that to be the story for me here at UCF. I want to be a great impact for my team, my family and my coaches because they really believe in me."
With each passing meet, Jean's strides continue to become more fluid and effortless. Although she admitted she felt nervous butterflies five minutes before the C-USA 400H finals were set to begin, she quickly snapped herself out of it.
"I said to myself, `Sandy, why are you nervous? You've been preparing since last year for this. This is your moment. You're No. 1. You can do this,'" Jean said. "I always say this Bible verse: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I said that to myself, and I stood behind the blocks and I said, `Just be aggressive.'"
She will make her return to the NCAA East Preliminary Round this week and will have another chance to claim the 400H school record for her own. She speaks about chasing down her personal best and All-American Jackie Coward's benchmark with a tone of confidence but far from arrogance.
"That record is mine. I've already broken it - it's just a matter of when I'm going to cross that line and the time is going to be on that scoreboard. But shout out to Jackie! Thank you for pushing me," she said with a megawatt smile.