Kristi Castlin was just 12 years old when her father, Rodney Castlin, was gunned down by a man demanding money out of the coffers at the hotel where the Castlin family patriarch worked. No child is equipped to deal with the devastating effects of such a loss and Castlin, bright, talented, quick as she was even then, proved no exception.
A guiding hand was what Castlin needed most during that tumultuous time. And while her mother was there, providing the help and support only a mother can, the loss of her father was, for the youngest Castlin, too great a hurdle to overcome.
For a time.
From tragedy though, came hope. From hope, belief. And out of the pain and suffering of her father’s loss came Kristi Castlin, Olympic athlete, bronze medal-winner at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio in the 100-meter hurdle, and outspoken opponent of American gun violence.
Calvin Setar 