This week, our Young Professional is Virgin Islands’ star athlete Chantel E. Malone, a recent gold medalist at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games held in Mexico and an aspiring pediatrician. Photo: Provided

Slides of Chantel in action. Photo: Provided

She said that her interest in track and field started when she was attending the Althea Scatliffe Primary School but she got more serious when she went on to the then BVI High School. Photo: Provided

Malone said that she is looking forward to competing in two meets next year – the Pan American Games 2015 in Toronto Canada and the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Athletics to be held in Beijing China. Photo: Provided

Chantel E. Malone in her Territorial wear. Photo: Provided

Her big moment in track and field no doubt has to be her gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Vera Cruz, Mexico when she leaped to 6.46 metres in the women’s long jump on November 25, 2014. Above, she is seen performing at another meet earlier in the year. Photo: Provided

Now a graduate of the University of Texas, Chantel E. Malone was born to parents Anna-belle Hillary Skelton-Malone and Keith ‘88’ Malone of Tortola.

“I was born in Puerto Rico and raised on Tortola. My childhood was pretty ordinary…there wasn’t anything drastic,” she said.

“My academics were always good because my mom was very hands on with the academic part of my schooling from [early] childhood so I give a lot of credit to her for forming that foundation for me,” said our Young Professional.

She said that her interest in track and field started when she was attending the Althea Scatliffe Primary School but she got more serious when she went on to the BVI High School. Her signature events are the long jump and the 400 metre run.

Her big moment in track and field no doubt has to be winning a gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Vera Cruz, Mexico when she leapt to 6.46 metres in the women’s long jump on November 25, 2014.

Asked what her favourite subjects were in school she said that she always liked math and the sciences. She has already graduated from the University of Texas at Austin where she studied the sciences.

“I want to be a pediatrician,” she said, adding that her degree is just a first step towards this goal. She plans to go to medical school following the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. “Depending on how my track career goes then I would start medical school that year or any time after that,” she said.

Malone’s main focus now is her athletic training. However, she does volunteer work down at a women and children's hospital in the US from time to time. “I don’t have like a sit down job. My job is training and running,” she said.

With regards to her training, Malone said that despite the fact that it is the off season, she still needs to continue training as she cannot afford to fall behind physically. “You can’t stop...you have to keep going in track and field. So I am still training right now. It is not as intense as it would be when I get back to the States but I am still doing workouts and lifting and all of than to keep my body moving,” she said.

“I would get up at 5:00 am for training…but [sometimes] it is based on what your coaches want you to do. It is not a set or permanent schedule…it just depends on what is going to happen on that day,” she said when asked what her training regimen is like.

The athlete said that she is also focused just as strongly on her nutrition as she is on physical training.

“Nutrition-wise, it is basically no sweets on a regular basis. We try to cut down on the sweets and the sodas and all of that and you stick to the lean meats, like chicken and fish,” she said.

Malone said that she is looking forward to competing in two meets next year – the Pan American Games 2015 in Toronto Canada and the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Athletics to be held in Beijing China.

Her advice to young people is that they must keep their head on. “I have seen young girls having kids. I want see them go further in life and not settle. Just take life one step at a time. You have a goal in mind and you want to achieve something, you want to graduate from high school and go on to college.”

“I would also say to them to try to have a strong head on their shoulders and not fall to peer pressure,” she said. Malone said that for troubled youth, they should find someone that they trust to talk to so that they could redeem that self-confidence and belief in themselves.

For those young people who aspire to do well in sports, Malone advised them to be disciplined. “Sit down and really think of what you want to accomplish in the sport that you’re in. It could be track, it could be basketball, it could be volleyball, whatever sports you’re in…it is important that you sit down and think of what you want to accomplish and once you do that it is easier for you to plan to reach that goal rather than doing something aimlessly,” she said.