SCOTT Donald

General
RIO DISAPPOINTMENT FUELS TOKYO FIRE
He says that missing out on the US team for the 2016 Olympic Games was a major source of motivation for him. "Placing seventh at the 2016 [US Olympic] Trials right out of college and being ranked 20th in the world did something to me. It made me stronger, it opened my eyes to keep pushing, be patient, to stay dedicated and driven no matter what because if I wanted to make it, I had to do it. And I did it, slowly climbing the charts, competing against guys I watched, studied, looked up to and then beating them. To getting married in 2018, gaining a sponsorship in 2019, having my daughter in 2019 and to lose my mother at the end of 2019 just days before the world championships was an up-and-down couple of years. But now [2021], ranking in the top five in the world, placing second at the 2021 Olympic Trials and becoming an Olympian, I'm a living testimony. I'm very thankful that the persistence has paid off because so much work has been put in." (Instagram profile, 23 Jun 2021)

EARLY DAYS
When he was growing up his father spent time in prison and his mother was not always present. He eventually went into foster care before moving in with relatives. "Growing up was hard. Growing up as a teenager in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, many don't make it out. I seen that. I just wanted to be different because I experienced a lot that a child just shouldn't, but it's the norm for many kids. Starting sports in high school was the best thing I could have ever done. Sports was my way of separating and releasing myself from everything I've gone through. Mentally I had a purpose to succeed. [American] football was my first love, but when I stepped on that concrete track at Apopka High School, I knew I had other talents which led me to becoming a two-sport athlete in college." (emueagles.com, 15 Jan 2020; Instagram profile, 23 Jun 2021)

COACHING
He is an assistant athletics coach at Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti, MI, United States of America. (mlive.com, 22 Jun 2021)