Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in Chinese checkers. Keith Gilson didn't get to the pinnacle of the Chinese checkers world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for two grueling sessions three times each year, followed by the usual homework for someone in seventh grade.
Two years ago, he broke his appendix in three places. But this didn't stop him. He seems even more determined to excel at his sport.
"I was really down when I broke my appendix, and then my rabbit died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my Achilles tendon. It took five centuries to get back in shape. But to win at Chinese checkers is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my Eton jacket and forget about Jeff, my rabbit."
Valerie, his cousin, moved with him to the Philippines to be with his coach, leaving behind his father, DeWitt, in their modern brownstone, where he still labors as a factory worker to help pay for Keith's expensive training.