凯利·韦尔斯（Kellie Wells，如图，韦尔斯在女子100米跨栏赛中）是美国女子室内和室外跨栏卫冕冠军。像许多优秀运动员一样，她正在为争取参加2012年伦敦奥运会全力以赴。但是她在田径比赛上越过的障碍物远没有她在弗吉尼亚州里士满度过的童年时光那么艰难。

从小便很有运动天赋的韦尔斯投入田径运动，以逃避虐待她的继父。另外，她还需要钱上大学。她对《福布斯》杂志（Forbes）的迈克尔·奥赞尼安（Michael Ozanian）说：“我知道田径能够把我带到那里去。”果然如此。在她的中学田径教练瓦特尔·迪克森（Vatel Dixon）的指导下，韦尔斯终于进入了弗吉尼亚州的汉普顿大学（Hampton University），并成为进入全国排名的大学冠军。

2008年，就在成为职业运动员一年之后，她一跃而成跨栏运动的顶尖选手。现年29岁的她很有可能入选美国奥运会代表队。她在接受《福布斯》杂志采访时表示希望获得金牌，并希望建立一个基金会，帮助妇女和儿童摆脱家庭暴力。另外，她与迪克森仍保持着密切的关系。她在每年父亲节都打电话给他。

Track star Kellie Wells, the reigning U.S. women's indoor and outdoor hurdling champion, is focused on making it to the 2012 Olympic Games. But she also wants to start a foundation that helps women and children escape from domestic violence. Learn how her personal history has shaped her goals.

Kellie Wells, seen here running the women’s 100-meter hurdles, is the reigning U.S. women’s indoor and outdoor hurdling champion — and, like many elite athletes, she’s focused on making it to the 2012 Olympic Games in London. But the hurdles she clears at track meets are less daunting than the difficult childhood she endured in Richmond, Virginia.

A gifted athlete from an early age, Wells turned to track as a refuge from an abusive stepfather. Also, she needed money for college, she told Forbes magazine’s Michael Ozanian: “I knew that track could take me there.” It did, and then some. Mentored by her secondary school track coach, Vatel Dixon, Wells made it to Virginia’s Hampton University, where she became a nationally ranked college champion.

She rose to the top of her sport in 2008, just a year after turning professional. Now 29, Wells is heavily favored to make the U.S. Olympic team. In her Forbes interview, she said she dreams of gold medals — and of starting a foundation that helps women and children escape from domestic violence.

Also, her bond with Dixon remains strong. She telephones him each Father’s Day.