Paralympian Jaleen Roberts On The Journey To The Tokyo Games

In this interview, inspiring Paralympian Jaleen Roberts shares her "journey to Tokyo", where she won silver medals in 2 track and field events, specifically the long jump and 100m! She competes in the T-37 category for those with some ambulatory disability from Cerebral Palsy and describes her advice to anyone facing a challenge or difficult decisions in life. She also reflects on her motto, as well as racing and jumping roots.

Transcript

And I'm here today with Jaylene Roberts, Who has recently returned from the Tokyo Paralympics 2020, Now 2021. And I've been talking to her since her time there and followed her in all of her great Olympic competition. She is a long jumper and a 100 meter and 200 meter runner in Team USA's track and field. Thanks so much for your time and for being with us, Jaylene. Welcome. Yeah, Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to talk. Yeah, And I know that students in particular have a big part in your life being a mentor to young athletes. Maybe we can start off by you telling me what you're doing today and what your life is like as an educator. Yeah, So I'm currently finishing up my bachelor's degree in health and physical education to be a teacher. So yeah, I just got done with the beginning of my second week of student teaching. I work at a K through 8 school, So I'm doing elementary and middle school right now. Last quarter I was at high schoolers and so far it's been a great experience. So yeah, Just looking forward to finishing up that degree and then getting a teaching job somewhere. Well, Any place I'm sure we'll be happy to have you. I've been following you for a while on social media and kind of got the opportunity to see how you've done just over the past couple of years at the world championships, The Pan American Games, And now of course the Olympics. I guess just first off, What are your thoughts coming back from Tokyo? What was the experience like? Can you give an umbrella statement about what it was like? Yeah, When people ask me this, My initial thought is indescribable and I know that sounds so cliche, But I guess there's not really like one descriptive word or sentence that can sum up the experience. But I think one feeling that I have coming back from it and going to there on the way there and back is kind of release. Going there I was so relieved and proud of myself for making it through all of the adversity that I had underwent from the time that I started training for the Games. It's so much build up leading up to it and when you're there, You're at this biggest stage competition of your life and you're on such a high. When you come back, It's kind of weird getting adjusted to normal life again. I think the one thing that people don't realize is that post-comp depression, Post-comp blues is definitely a thing because you're coming down from this incredible high that you don't feel every day. But yeah, No, It was definitely an incredible once in a lifetime experience that hopefully won't be once in a lifetime for me, But just a figure of speech there. Yeah, We hope so too. And especially, I know that you won silver in both the 100 meter and the long jump and frequently in track and field people kind of differentiate. They really specialize. So I want to ask you a little bit about your journey to get to both of those and how that happened. So let's start off with just kind of your athlete roots. I know that you're from Washington State and sports were a big part of your life growing up. How did you find your way to events in track and field? Yeah, So I was always an athletic kid. My mom put me in recreational soccer at four years old and I pretty much tried every sport. I tried soccer, T-ball, Dance, Cheerleading, And many more. And in fourth grade I started running track in my elementary school and that stuck with me all the way through high school and obviously until now. And it was in high school when I stuck to my three sports, I did all four years, I did soccer, Wrestling, And track. And my junior year of high school, Washington State started an ambulatory division for high school track. And so my coaches wanted me to do it and I kind of expressed to them that it wasn't something that I was comfortable doing just because my whole life I had only competed against able-bodied athletes. And I didn't want to highlight my disability as something that I've always seen as quote unquote normal, Which I've learned now what is normal, There is no normal. But yeah, So I told them that I wasn't really interested and they came back from the state track meet and my high school track coach actually came into my geography class and he pulled me out. And he said, Hey, I met a couple of Paralympic coaches, Do you know what that is? And I said, No, Not really. And he kind of explained it to me and told me that they wanted to get connected with me and I was up for it. I was like, Yeah, Sure, But I had in my head that I wasn't going to be in any type of adaptive competition. That's just not what I wanted to do at that time. And so they had trouble down from Spokane with their team to come to me and my coach had watched me run and he immediately before I could even agree to anything called the head of US Para Track and Field at the time. And told her that he is an athlete, That he found an athlete. And so he gave me the paperwork and just that next year I was at my first international competition. And I was definitely very hesitant initially, Which is very common for para-athletes. I think it's just because it's something that a lot of people don't know about and you don't know what you're getting yourself into. And I think my initial hesitation was that if I was going to compete in something new, I wanted there to be competition. And so as soon as I learned about the different classifications and that I would be competing against girls with my same disability and the same severity level, Then I was a little more up to seeing what it was about. But yeah, That's how I started track and field. I can see how that would be. And that's very, You know, That's incredibly remarkable and honorable for you to even think in that way. And like you said, I think probably most para-athletes do the same. And that explains why there are so many different divisions that can sometimes be confusing for the non-involved observer that I've been learning about over the course of this Paralympics. Could you describe what those are like or how they, What kind of categories, Just as examples, One might find in a track and field competition? Yeah, So it actually, It took me a while to catch on just because the classification numbers sometimes change. But they've been pretty consistent since I've started. But basically, So it starts at a little number. So it starts, 11, 12, And 13 are all visually impaired classes. And the lower the number, The more severe the disability is. So an 11 would be a completely blind athlete. And they wear eyewear over their eyes to ensure that they can't see. And then 12 has more vision and 13 have more vision. So that's kind of like, The basis of it is that whatever classification you're in, Whatever number that is, The lower the number, The more severe, The higher the number, The less severe. So I am classed as a 37. So all of the 30s, I believe it goes, I know for sure goes to 33. I don't know if it goes below that. It goes, I think from 33 to 38. 33 are athletes with cerebral palsy that race in race chairs or they throw in throwing chairs. And then there's 38s that run and 37 that run 36 and 35. So I am one below the least impaired class in the cerebral palsy classes. So I'm very high functioning. A lot of people don't know that I have a disability. They think that maybe I'm injured or ask why I'm limping. But yeah, So I'm pretty able for my class. But there's a class above me that's even more able than we are. So yeah, That's kind of a little bit about how that works in the other classifications too. There's short stature classifications. So for athletes with dwarfism classifications for athletes that have any type of amputation, Whether it be arm or leg. And then there's also classifications for wheelchair racers and seated throwers. Oh, That's yeah, There's an incredible diversity. I didn't realize how many levels of cerebral palsy especially. I actually grew up with someone in my family with cerebral palsy. And he did not have those competition options where we were located. But obviously there was community around support and opportunities for him to do recreational things. So the question that I had for you was in a lot of towns there aren't clubs and universities may not have Paralympic training or para training. So how does say a young person go about finding and getting involved with a club or a sport that they might be able to compete in in the future? Yeah, No, It's a great question, Because as a child, I didn't know or my mom didn't know. I didn't think that those like we didn't think that those existed, I don't think, Or didn't know they existed, I guess. And so just I would simply if I knew what I knew now, Just look up adaptive sports programs. And they're not always going to be near you, But there's programs and there's adaptive coaches or people in the adaptive world that can help connect younger athletes to resources. And yeah, And that's why I try to be so active on social media, Too, Because I have a lot of parents of young athletes that reach out to me. And they're not always in my area that I live in, But there's different connections I know around the U. S. And maybe I can't don't have one right in their city, But there's one that's like a state away as opposed to from the East Coast to the West Coast. Sure. And yeah, I just yeah, Look it up, Look up adaptive sports programs. Any anybody in the any athletes in the pair world are more than willing to help people get involved. That's that's that's one of my purposes of being a Paralympic athlete is just raise awareness about it, Because have I known had I known about it when I was younger, I would have a chance to get involved at a younger age. And thank God I'm still I'm still young. I still haven't reached my peak yet. But I love I love seeing young athletes come in and getting to see their growth over the years and starting at a at a smaller adaptive sports club in their city. And then going all the way up into into Paralympic Games is incredible. But yeah, That's why I'm so vocal on social media. And I know that that my coaches do a lot of recruiting, Going into schools and whatnot. And even if I if I see someone around the city or a couple of my students have had cerebral palsy, I can spot that from a mile away. I have a pamphlet. I just give it to them, Talk to them a little bit. And I also have an understanding that they are going to be hesitant just because that's it's completely normal. For that to be the case. But yeah, My thing is just just try it once. You know, I didn't know I didn't know what was going to happen when I got out of my comfort zone. If I had known that I probably would have got out of it a little sooner. That's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. And we I think everyone appreciates the work that you're doing and many of your friends that were in the Paralympics that I've seen you share with and share that experience with. It's so inspirational and motivational, As you said, For other young athletes. And as you mentioned, There are so many we're all differently abled, But there are so many young people that are not able to participate fully in traditional sports that they would like to. I know, For example, You have been able to do you also love wrestling and you've been able to do that at a competitive level in regular competition as well. How how did you get involved with that and how does that, I don't know, Mentally or philosophically play into your your running and your jumping? Yeah, So I in seventh grade, I tried out for the basketball team and I made the team, But I'm almost positive it was not because of my skill set for basketball was because of my speed and my conditioning. And yeah, I joined the team and I and I could not pick up the game of basketball. I just couldn't pick it up. And so a lot of the season and a lot of time I was benched and I'm the type of person that like wants to move. I want to be active. I want to move. I want to play. And I just wasn't getting that with basketball. And so after the season was over, One of my female classmates told me that she was in a wrestle and I I was like, Yeah, Right. No, You're not. And she's like, No, I am. And I was like, OK, Cool. Like I'm going to do it too. So I'm pretty sure that same day I went home and I like I told my mom, I was like, Mom, I want to do wrestling. And she was like fully supportive of it. I'm not knowing much about the sport. But then, Yeah, I started in eighth grade and I I was really good. I think it it boosted my confidence a little bit because I was able to beat some of the boys. And that gave me a little bit of recognition from from my teammates and from my school and whatnot. And then when I got up to the high school level, I only wrestled against girls. I mean, I wrestled against a couple of boys and in practice I did because I think that it helped me. But yeah, So initially my plan was to go to college for wrestling. I actually got recruitment letters from a couple of different schools. And that was also right all the time when I met my parent with the coach and I just I just knew that it was a better opportunity. And I didn't really like one more than the other. I love wrestling. I love to track. And I think they're both very different. But I definitely I definitely think that wrestling is one of the most mental sports there is. I mean, Obviously, You have to be physically ready to compete and to to wrestle a six minute match and to be exhausted. But you also have to be mentally tough. And I think that's helped me a lot just with conditioning phases of track and the long days, The early mornings, All of that. I had to get up super early for wrestling tournaments and they would last all day. And it taught me to so much of my time was devoted to wrestling. We we wrestled, We practice every day and on the weekends we had a tournament. We wrestled over holidays, Not on the actual holidays, But over holiday break to wrestled. We had to sacrifice a lot of things if we had to cut weight. And it was never substantial amounts because we're in high school. But if we had a couple of pounds, You know, Like we couldn't always enjoy a full Thanksgiving dinner or Thanksgiving leftovers or same thing with Christmas. And for track, I've had to sacrifice a lot of things to different things. But, You know, I moved four hours away to go train with my my parallel coach, Which I'm fully transitioning out of because I just recently moved to San Diego. But I moved four hours away from my friends and family. You know, I I changed my nutritional habits. Sometimes you got to go to practice instead of going out with your friends, You know. So but I think I think wrestling as well as just being an athlete in general in high school prepared me pretty well. And obviously there's some differences between being a high school athlete and an athlete. But there's definitely also some crossover in that. Yeah, And a lot of crossover. I hear that often that that that mental state, That willingness to give to the sport and kind of knowing what's required to be competitive. I think you're right. I think that overlaps a lot. And so from my understanding, Let's take a step back in. If I can take you back just to, I guess, About two weeks now, What what was that like, You know, Knowing that all these other athletes, How much sacrifice and work they'd put in regardless of their abilities and what category they're in? What was that like to be with them on the track in Tokyo and in the Olympic village from all over the world? What was that experience like? Yeah, I love it. I adore the Chinese athletes, Especially when I compete against her in long jumps and the races. OK. But yeah, So there's definitely a big language barrier there. But when we were waiting to get our medals for long jumps, There was one of the volunteers there, She spoke Chinese fluently. And so she was kind of being our interpreter. We didn't ask her to, But she saw us kind of using translate and like trying to understand each other with gestures and whatnot. And yeah, I have like total respect for her. She's the most respectful competitor I've had. She always has a smile on her face. She's encouraging, Even though she's my competitor. And just learning a little bit about how their training structure, I just know they work so hard and it's like they dedicate a lot. They have a lot of dedication they put into it and hard work. And so it's really cool getting to see other athletes there. And even I thought it was a really cool experience to get to communicate with each other as best we could, Just whether it be about track or I know like I was face telling my mom and she was I was telling her like this is my mom and she was saying hi. So it's cool to get a connect with all the different athletes and different cultures. But yeah, No, I always come in to my competitors because I know that they've been putting in the same amount of work. And yeah, It's just a cool thing to see it all come together for everybody. There's this I guess the U. S. Had one of the bigger delegations. I know Japan had the biggest and then China, Of course, Had a big delegation and RPC. And I also saw this year was historic and that it was the most overall competitors and the most females that have ever competed in Paralympics and Olympics. So that, You know, I mean, That had to just be even during the covid pandemic, That had to be something special to to witness and to to come into the the ceremonies with that, That, You know, That energy for the for the Paralympics. Yeah, Yeah, That's that's always super cool to witness, Like female athletes and female female leaders, Female participants, Just because I feel like a lot of times we're we're pretty underrepresented. And I think I think people do a good job of I know like even this year, I know just like an article came out around Desert Challenge around the time of Desert Challenge. And it was like eight women to watch at the U. S. Paralympic trials, Just like little things like that that like mean a ton. It like makes I was speaking for myself. I think that it makes us feel seen more. So that's always really cool to see how to see us being represented and to like we are competitive. We are athletes as well. Now, You know, One thing that I'm curious about and I don't know exactly how this works, But there's some kind of a transition between the Olympics and the Paralympics or both the Olympic Games. But is there a lot of time between them? Do you overlap? Do you meet each other or is it totally, Totally separate timeline? No, It is a separate timeline. So the Olympics occur two weeks prior to the Paralympic Games. I think there's like a two week gap in between. So the Olympic athletes come into Japan, They go to the village, They go to the stadium. And then after they're done, Two weeks later, We come in. But everything Paralympics is it's parallel. So parallel to the Olympics. So we have the same venue. So when we went, We have the same training venue, The same obviously Olympic and Paralympic stadium, The same village. We say the same village, Same food, Same, Same everything. We even recently got the same pay as the Olympians. So we don't cross over like we don't get to see each other like physically. But we do experience the same thing, Just different, Different personnel. That's awesome, As it should be put in just as much work and the competition is just as tough. I know there's another, You know, Whatever percent, Half or more of your life that is not competing in Paralympics, But I'm sure it seemed like the majority of your life leading up to the Paralympics. Does that feel you mentioned this when we first started talking? Does that feel like a monumental shift for you now going into student teaching? Are you still competing? Are you connecting with a new club in San Diego? What is all that like for you? Yeah, So I kind of had my plan prior to going to the games. And so, Yeah, So I just transitioned and moved to San Diego. I'm doing my last student teaching quarter here and I've connected with one of the coaches at the Chula Vista Elite Athletic Training Center. So I will be training there. Just taking some time off. I think we'll start, We'll restart here back in a little bit. And yeah, Next I'll be training for the World Championships in Kobe. So we're back to Japan next year. And then after that, After that year, We have a World Championships and a pair of Pan American games. OK. And then it'll be Paris again. So, Yeah, Training, Training will go on. That's awesome. And I know that you've also medaled in a lot of other games outside of the Paralympics because competitions go on every year. A lot of people don't realize, For example, You're a gold medalist in the 4x100 Universal Relay in 2019 for the World Championships. What I wanted to ask you about that, What is entailed in the Universal Relay? So the Universal Relay is, Or some people call the mixed relay. So there are four athletes, Just like a standard relay. The first leg has to be a visually impaired athlete. The second leg has to be a amputee. The third leg is an athlete with cerebral palsy and the fourth leg is a wheelchair racer. So it has to be two girls and two guys. It does not matter the order of the genders, But it has to be two girls and two guys. And then rather than having batons, Because let's say someone's an arm amputee and they can't hold a baton, We simply just tap each other. And that represents the handoff. So, Yeah, That was that was an incredible race. I that race is always so much fun. And this year, They selected a different team, A new team from the Games. But I'm glad I got to be a part of it when it first started, Because I got to be on the first Universal Relay team that we've had. So that was an incredible experience. That's awesome. Yeah, From what I gather, It's relatively new. So 2019 was the debut of international competition and then this was the Paralympic debut. Yes. OK, Got it. It was it was beautiful to watch that I did watch. I haven't seen your gold medal performance, But of course, I did see the one in the Paralympic competition just a few weeks ago. And you're right. It feels really uniting. Hence the term, I guess. Yeah, No, It definitely is definitely definitely something that. Oh, It was just a great race to watch, Too. I made sure that I was at the stadium when that race went on. It was a really, Really fun race to watch. And of course, I know that the participants, Too, Had a lot of fun and it's fun after the race all getting to come together and take pictures and talk about it. You talk about it all night. Oh my God, You know what I'm saying? It's super cool. It's super fun experience. I'm glad that some of the other athletes got to experience that as well. I bet. Yeah, No, That's awesome. And I can't say enough how grateful I am that you're out there and you're sharing what you're sharing and doing what you're doing. I hope you get to continue it for many years as a teacher. One of the last questions I wanted to ask you was about that you'd mentioned. And this is the case for non-disabled athletes as well. It's pretty rare that you find an athlete who can do that full time, Can be a professional athlete full time. Most everyone has other jobs that support their training. How do you how do you see that combination working for you? Do you think there's enough time for you to keep training when you start full time teaching? Are there some resources that help you to, You know, Be able to do both and make that transition? Yeah, So I mean, Right now my schedule is pretty busy. I'm not training right now because we just got back from the games. But I do I do student teach full time and I do also work. And so when I do start training again, I know that my my job is going to be flexible. I when I find jobs, I'm very upfront and I and I and anybody that knows me really well knows that my priorities are track school and then work. So all the jobs that I've had have been super accommodating for that and fully supportive of what I do and excited about that. And so they're always willing to work with me. If I train in the morning, Then they'll give me a night shift or whatnot. And they're also willing to give me time off if I have a competition or if I have some kind of media gig that I need to go to. And so, Yeah, So after this, These three months of student teaching, I will be teaching anymore. So I'll just be working and that'll open up my schedule a lot as far as just not having to move too many things around for training. But yeah, I've always figured out a way to make it work. I've been doing it since twenty seventeen and I don't really mind it. I am I am pretty busy, But I think that helps me stay focused. I don't have too much time to to do other things that aren't beneficial to my training, You know, And I don't have any time to build any any bad habits. I have time to I have time to, You know, Try new places to eat or go to the beach and things like that. But but just the right amount of time, I don't need too much free time in my schedule. I like it like that. I choose that for myself. That's awesome. Well, You'll have a little bit more tempting weather this year in San Diego than you have grown up in Washington. Yeah. Yeah. I have talked to my my best friend and roommate about that. Just getting off of work and being like, Hey, You want to go to the beach casually? Can't be found in Washington. So, Yeah, Well, That's awesome. I wish you the best of luck. And I would like to close with this this question about I always ask about what advice you would give to to younger athletes. And in particular, What has kept you going and helped you to move past obstacles? You know, If it's a quote or an idea or kind of a mantra that you that you try to live by and and train by. Yeah, My biggest piece of advice and just a short sentence would just be take a chance, Because that was the hardest thing for me in getting involved with track. I didn't want to take a chance and I was really stubborn and I took a chance and I got out of my comfort zone and there was so much magic that happened. And I think that more people just need to take a chance, Take that first step. And I think that everything else will fall into place exactly how it should. And and maybe it's not for everybody, But what does it hurt to try? You know, So I think that's that would be my my biggest piece of advice. And I guess my kind of what keeps me going is that I, I just I know there's little girls in the stand when there's when it's not COVID, You know, Or when it is little girls watching me on TV. And I don't want to disappoint them. And that doesn't necessarily mean I'll disappoint them if I don't win. It means that I set a good example for them. I'm a role model for them. I give them the opportunity to see someone with a disability who is doing something so much bigger than themselves, Because I want to make sure that younger girls, Especially with disabilities, To know that they can do something huge and they don't have limitations, Even if people try to place them on them or they try to place them on themselves. And I think that's my biggest why I do it for for the younger girls, Because growing up, I never had somebody with a disability to look up to. And so it's important for me to be that for somebody, Even if it's just one person that I can impact. That's why I do the sport. That's why I do this. And that's why I keep doing it. Well, That that you are and that you do. And wise words from Jaylene Roberts there. I'm so grateful for your time and grateful that you took a chance and also took a chance to to share with us on the Running Anthropologist about everything about about your journey. And we hope to keep in touch with you and see all the great things that you're doing in the future, Both in competition and and in teaching. Thanks so much, Jaylene. Yeah, Thank you so much. All right. And happy running. Thank you.