PARIS – As one of America’s steeplechase savants, a nine-time All-American and Rio Olympics competitor, Colleen Quigley understands the calculus. Many find her chosen track and field discipline a little … strange, if, that is, they’ve heard of it at all.
Happens all the time. The questions. The quizzical brows. The lightbulb moments. And the range of expressions, from bemusement to wonder to the shaking of heads. She’ll often get in an Uber, and the driver will ask if she’s an athlete. Yes. Sometimes she says no to end the conversation. If not, they’ll ask about the sport. Her answers range from “track and field” to “a field athlete” to the one that’s certain to provoke more questions. I compete in steeplechase.
