Junior Olympian Isabella Bravo Brings Home Three More Medals

Colton resident Isabella Bravo has already proved her talent, endurance, and strength when last year, at the age of 7, she participated in the Junior Olympics and then advanced to the USATF Junior Olympic Cross Country Champions in December of 2014. Bravo, now 8, did nothing but excel since then. According to her father Louis Bravo, she is currently ranked, in the age 8 and under division, 7th in the nation for the 800 meter run, 7th for the 1,500 meter run, and 8th for the 400 meter run. Bravo brought her talents to the 2015 USATF Hershey National Youth Outdoor Championships held Tuesday, June 30 through Sunday, July 5 at Benedictine University located in Lisle, Illi. Bravo participated in three different races: the 400 meter, the 800 meter, and 1,500 meter race. In order to advance she had to place in the top eight runners for the 400 and 800. It was nothing to Bravo, her father shared; she advanced easily as she placed 3rd in the 400 meter with a time 1:13:29, reaching a new personal record. “She went from 1:18 to 1:15, and now she’s all the way down at 1:13,” father Louis shared. These few seconds are crucial in races; every second counts. Bravo also placed 4th in the 800 meter race with a time of 2:53:04 and placed 4th, as well, in the 1,500 meter race with a time of 5:53:22. “The 400 hasn’t always been the best one so when we saw that she placed 3rd and got that time we were blown away,” Louis shared. “It’s not always been her strongest one but wow, she did exceedingly well.” On top of all that, this is the first year Bravo has ever run track. Although she is a Colton resident, Bravo went in the meet representing the Corona Panthers with only one other teammate with her. Bravo managed to beat her personal record at the 400 meter run even after she had just finished the 1,500 meter run. “She only had about an hour of rest in between races,” Louis explained. “She really stepped up.” Bravo added that she loves running and it is her favorite thing to do. “I hope to be like Jackie Joyner-Kersee when I grow up,” Bravo shared after taking home three medals. Louis added that Joyner-Kersee is her all-time favorite athlete. “She even wrote a report about her [Joyner-Kersee] for school,” said Louis, who says his daughter always tells him that she hopes to participate in the Olympics one day.