In some distant, imagined future she does historic things.
Running with a long, brown ponytail floating behind her like a vapor
trail, she wins gold medals, breaks world records and restores track and
field to a place where little girls dream that someday they will be
just like Mary Cain. Or in another version of that same
future, she is injured or overwhelmed and never finds the greatness
that once seemed imminent. It’s not possible to know which will happen,
despite America’s collective obsession with thrusting outsized
expectation onto the most gifted young athletes. Whatever her path,
whether to greatness or obscurity, there will never be another moment in
her life quite like this one, when every race is fast and every day is
sweeter than the one before.  Continue reading at sportsillustrated.com