From
the Pan Am Games in Toronto. Published July 25, 2015.
TORONTO — Never mind the finish.
Just
getting to the starting block was a victory for Eddie Lovett.
The
U.S. Virgin Islands hurdler woke up and checked Facebook on race day
Friday morning only to find out his younger sister had been shot and
killed overnight in South Florida.
A
few hours later, Lovett was crouched down at the starting line
at Toronto’s York University, racing to pay tribute to DelShonna
Billy, who was 22 and had two children.
“My
head wasn’t really in it,” Lovett said afterward. “I just
wanted to race hard and honor her.”
Running
on pure heart, Lovett still managed a fourth-place finish in his
eight-man heat, finishing the 110-meter hurdles in 13.65 seconds,
despite clipping the final three hurdles and staggering to the finish
line.
