Starting his ambitions in 6th grade, Lamonte Walker started to practice running. He was inspired by his father, who also did track, and Usain Bolt, a Jamaican sprinter who currently holds the world record for both the 100m and 200m sprint.

“As soon as I saw Usain Bolt, I wanted to run faster than him,” said Walker.

In order to achieve his goal he started training by doing distance running everyday for 2-3 hours so that he would get faster for the short sprints, namely the 100m and 200m the same sprints that Bolt currently holds the world records for. Walker’s current routine includes running for 30-40 minutes, per run, and then taking a 10-15 minute break in between each run.

He also made sure to get involved in the Kennedy games as a 6th grader and ran with the 8th graders, still managing to be the fastest one on the team. He also participated in the games as a 7th and 8th grader, getting second place for the former two and first place for the latter.

“I wanted to become the greatest, so I just ran my whole life,” said Walker.

As a result, he was eager to join the track team and continue to push himself to reach his goal, wanting to improve as much as possible with hard work and dedication.