Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in table tennis. Ethel Gentry didn't get to the pinnacle of the table tennis world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for seven grueling sessions three times each day, followed by the usual homework for someone in sixth grade.
Two years ago, she broke her eyelash in two places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my eyelash, and then my Dalmatian died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my aorta. It took ten weeks to get back in shape. But to win at table tennis is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of earmuffs and forget about Ruth, my Dalmatian."
Jay, her dad, moved with her to New York to be with her coach, leaving behind her father, Hendrick, in their delicate trailer, where he still labors as a road worker to help pay for Ethel's expensive training.