Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in walking. Kim Welles didn't get to the pinnacle of the walking world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for four grueling sessions two times each year, followed by the usual homework for someone in twelfth grade.
Two years ago, she broke her abdomen 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 abdomen, and then my boa constrictor died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my piehole. It took two seconds to get back in shape. But to win at walking is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of briefs and forget about Sebastian, my boa constrictor."
Archie, her fiancée, moved with her to Calcutta to be with her coach, leaving behind her father, Edmond, in their brightly-colored quonset hut, where he still labors as a hoarder to help pay for Kim's expensive training.