She's that fast.

She will race you up the stairs, skipping two at a time to beat you. One day, she hopes to beat everyone and become one of the fastest sprinters and hurdlers ever.

"I am going to be the best in the world for the next few years or more," she said.

Mayo, a senior at Southeast Raleigh High School, has set her sights on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In August, she wants to compete in the world championships in Osaka, Japan.

To make those dreams come true, Mayo must navigate a long, uncertain road. As talented as she is -- she was the No. 1-ranked high school sprinter in the nation last year -- there are no guarantees of success as she tries to move from high school competition to college and the pros.

Between now and the Olympics, the 18-year-old will have to strengthen her 5-foot-6, 126-pound frame and change her diet to lay off the Bojangles'. She will have to tweak her technique and cope with tougher competition.

She will be asked to grow socially yet stay grounded in church and academics while competing in a sport damaged by links to steroids and other performance-enhancing substances.

Again and again, she will have to top an already impressive list of feats. Mayo will receive support from coaches and family members but will have to rely on intellect, savvy and speed to fulfill her promise.

"Gabby's potential is unlimited, if it's tapped the right way," said Mike Byrnes, co-founder of the National Scholastic Sports Foundation and an observer of track and field for nearly 50 years.

"Can she be another Marion Jones? That would be ridiculous to say yes or no. Who knows? But she's as close to it as anybody I've seen."

An early sign of speed

As a baby, Mayo would dash between her mom and her aunt, who would wait for her at opposite ends of a narrow hallway.

"She ran and ran and ran and ran," said her mother, Sandra Mayo.

It all began with those baby strides.

Treshell Mayo-Herndon, the aunt who stood in the hallway and later introduced Mayo to track in the seventh grade, said, "We laugh about it because it was a sign."

Mayo would become one of North Carolina's most acclaimed female high school track and field athletes ever. She would win 12 state championships and break six state records. Raleigh would proclaim Nov. 7, 2006, Gabrielle Mayo Day. She would earn the 2006 youth athlete of the year award from USA Track and Field and Track and Field News' top female high school honor.

Mayo showed her speed last year as a junior when she ran the nation's fastest 100- and 200-meter girls' high school times -- 11.16 seconds and 22.88 seconds.

For comparison, three-time Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones, who attended UNC-Chapel Hill, ran an 11.14-second 100 in high school. Four-time NCAA 100-meter champion Angela Williams owns the high school record of 11.11 seconds.

"I'm racing the clock, not people beside me," Mayo said in her soft voice.

Coaches keep her focused

Mayo has learned to dedicate herself to track the way John Coltrane devoted himself to music theory.

She trains six days a week at St. Augustine's College with Aunt Treshell, a former state champion and All-American sprinter at Clemson University, and a private coach, Stephen Hayes, who joined Team Mayo a year ago.

They work to keep Mayo focused because she admits she "hates practice" and would rather talk on the cell phone or get manicures at the mall. She welcomes any chance to break the monotony of training, striking a model pose or playfully swinging at Hayes. She got an iPod for Christmas and dances to the music of singer Ciara to ease the pain of sprints and squats.

Next page >