With tragic past behind, Castlin eyes Olympic medal

It took her a lifetime to make it to the race. But it took Kristi Castlin just 12.5 seconds to become an Olympian.

When she was 12, her father was murdered as he worked at a Cobb County hotel. It would be nearly 15 years later before Rodney Castlin’s killer was sent to prison. By then, a young girl with remarkable athletic ability had grown into one of the fastest women in the world, recognizing her strength and persevering in her hardest race of all.

“The road to Rio has been a very, very long road,” Kristi’s mother, Kim Castlin, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “For our family, we needed this. We needed it.”