At 15, Gero-Holt Has Proven She Is Ready To Compete At The World Athletics U20 Championships

By Keenan Gray for DyeStat

Photos courtesy Bailey Kapels

It's already been an eventful year for JaiCieonna Gero-Holt.

It all began in late February at The Podium in Spokane, where the high school freshman competed against professional athletes in the women's high jump at the U.S. Indoor Championships. She was the youngest competitor in the entire meet and was able to show the crowd the capabilities of a 15-year old from Puyallup, Wash. 

She finished eighth overall with a clearance of 5-10.75 (4.74m).

When her first high school season rolled around, as expected, Gero-Holt was already ahead of her competition. In addition to the high jump, she was a dominant performer for Emerald Ridge High in the hurdles, long jump, javelin, you name it. 

She brought home three state titles in the 100-meter hurdles, long jump, and of course, high jump.

Then came the Washington State Combined Event Championships. For the second consecutive year she won the heptathlon, this time with a personal best 5,108 points to break the freshman class national record. 

At the USATF U20 Championships in Eugene, Ore., Gero-Holt went to another level for the chance to represent the United States next week in Cali, Colombia at the U20 World Athletics Championships.

Gero-Holt improved to 5,401 points, eclipsing her own record and securing the second auto qualifying spot. 

“It was definitely close and a great experience,” Gero-Holt said.

Pittsburg State's Blakelee Winn took first with a score of 5,473 points. Winn won't be able to compete in Colombia due to a passport issue, so Purdue commit Bryanna Craig, who finished third with 5,388 points, will replace Winn.

“Me and Bryanna have been texting each other non-stop since U20s and are excited about everything. This was something I won’t forget,” Gero-Holt said.

The culmination of her successes this year have led her to one of the biggest stages of her young career. Gero-Holt, along with the rest of the world’s brightest young athletes, are now set to begin competition on Monday and the meet will last six days. The heptathlon for Gero-Holt will start Wednesday.

Competing for Team USA comes with some perks. 

“Me, my grandma, and my aunt were out on the porch one day just sitting down, and my grandma was asking me, ‘Is your stuff coming UPS or Fedex?’,” Gero-Holt said.

Soon enough, a UPS truck pulled up into their driveway. That raised the level of excitement on the porch.

“While this man is walking up, I felt so bad for the UPS man because they are just over there screaming, and all of this is so exciting,” Gero-Holt said. “My grandma is over here videoing and was like, ‘You’re bringing her USA team stuff!’, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh’. I think they were more excited than I was.”

After an embarrassing couple of minutes for Gero-Holt and everyone finally calmed down, she opened the package right there and found all the warm-up and competition gear she’ll take to Colombia. It’s the same uniform that the U.S. team members wore for the recent World Championships in Eugene.

“I can’t wait to compete in this,” Gero-Holt said. “It’s amazing to think I’ll also have the same thing in my suitcase as I saw Sydney McLaughlin (wear). I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I have that same thing.’”

To make things even more exciting, Gero-Holt’s coach, Bob Frey, was able set up a photo shoot for her to model her uniform at the Emerald Ridge track.

“It was just a really nice experience and I definitely feel now that I had my pictures taken professionally, I officially feel official,” she said.

Wearing the U.S. uniform brings about a different feeling.

“For me at least…it feels like it gives you power,” Gero-Holt said. “I’m actually going out here to represent my country, you know...Everybody that represented their country in the USA, I now get to be a part of that…it’s this sense of, I get to go out here and show people this is who I am, and this is what I’m made of.”

This will be Gero-Holt’s first chance to travel outside the country and her grandmother, who is supporter No. 1, will make the trip to cheer her on.

“I’ve never even traveled to the grocery store without my grandma, let alone South America,” Gero-Holt said. “It’s definitely going to be a different world…Colombia is really going to give me the idea of how things will be when I travel internationally.”

Gero-Holt left for the trip Friday morning with fellow USA teammates Amanda Moll and Hana Moll, the twin pole vaulters from Olympia, Wash. The first stop is Atlanta, where Gero-Holt will meet up with heptathlete teammate Craig, then hop on another flight to Bogota, Colombia before eventually making another short trip to Cali.

There's more to do once the athletes arrive in Cali. They athletes will undergo Covid testing, drug testing, and more before athletes can leave their hotel. It’s a lot to ask from a 15-year-old who was just in Driver’s Ed class a few days ago. 

In the grand scheme of things, Gero-Holt wouldn’t change anything else to have this experience. The opportunity to compete on the biggest of stages at her age is a once in a lifetime opportunity – an opportunity she feels will make everyone at home proud. 

“Just to go out here to be able to say, ‘I’m from USA, I’m here to represent my country, this is what we are about’ is an honor,” Gero-Holt said. “I don’t feel pressure from anybody because I have such a strong support system and so many people and so many loyal people are by my side that are rooting for me like my church, my teammates, my coaches, my grandma, and my family…It makes me feel so good to know what I am doing brings them joy.”