This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Team USA steeplechase specialist Colleen Quigley traded walking on a catwalk for running on a track, and so far, so good. When the 23-year-old made the Olympic team this summer, she called it "the most amazing day" of her life, tweetiing:
"I'm an Olympian! Most amazing day of my life. Massive thank you to everyone who texted, called, snapped, tweeted, and instagrammed today. I promise I will respond to everything tomorrow! Tonight- we celebrate!! "
Quigley's 13-year-old self, however, might be a little perplexed. The Florida State grad used to model and she told Runner's World last year she always thought she'd end up pursuing a fashion career, not necessarily a gold medal.
"It was great fun," Quigley said of her time being managed by renowned modeling agencies Wilhelmina and Storm.
Discovered after attending a local casting call for a Macy's prom dress fashion show as an eighth-grader, Quigley has fond memories of traveling with her parents for her work - and not just to nearby malls. Quigley was legit, modeling for the likes of Glamour and Seventeen magazines.
"They would have a vacation in the Bahamas while I worked at a shoot for two days," she said. "It was pretty great. I have really good memories of it."
All the while, Quigley continued to run and eventually landed a full-ride scholarship at FSU.
"When it came time to go to college, I felt it was the right choice for me to accept a scholarship as an athlete and graduate four years later with a degree and no debt," she write on her personal website. "After college, the opportunity arose to continue doing what I really love, and even though I'm sure I could make quite a bit more money as a model, there is something inside me that can't put this running thing on the back burner just yet. ... I am a runner first, then model."
And it's a good thing for Team USA. On Saturday, Quigley qualified for the 3,000-meter steeplechase final that's scheduled to be held on Monday. She'll be joined by Courtney Frerichs and Emma Coburn, who is the reigning U.S. champion at the event.