Despite her hefty collection of championship medals and accolades which landed her a multiyear deal with Adidas, Michelle Smith’s world, surprisingly, does not revolve around running track. The 19-year-old V.I. national champion hurdler and relay record-setter treats her sport more like a job: she clocks in, performs well, and clocks out.
“She’s still herself,” her older sister, Mikaela, smiled. No dramatics. “No spiraling into the pressure. She’s calm, focused on doing what needs to be done.”
“I get on the line, and I execute,” she said with a soft shrug. “And if I don’t …” she paused, shaking her head, “ … I do,” she nodded once and moved on.
That steady confidence makes Michelle stand out on and off the track.
She made her running debut at the age of four, inviting family members to come out and watch. “I’ve never seen a four-year-old invite spectators to a meet,” Michelle’s father, Keith Smith, laughed. “And she was really good!”
“I hated it!” Michelle joked in a separate conversation. “I was so tired! And then I guess I just kept doing it.”
Off the track, the University of Georgia sophomore is an aspiring forensic pathologist with big plans beyond winning medals. She lights up when talking about her spontaneous college adventures, trying new food spots, and falling asleep watching movies with her friends at 1 a.m.
She and her sister Mikaela are inseparable. They share a light, easy rhythm that seems to make time stand still.
“What I admire most about her is how she’s okay in her own skin,” Michelle said, glancing toward Mikaela.
Mikaela smiled. “Michelle is tough. She’s fierce. And she doesn’t let the outside noise distract her. She just goes out and does what she’s supposed to do.”
That “outside noise” looks different for both girls.
“For me, it’s when I’m not doing as well as I want to,” Mikaela explained. “But I’ve been focusing on pouring into myself with positivity. Just being grateful — even if it feels fake at first. And in that, I’m figuring out who I am in Christ … because God was there for me even when nobody else was.”
Michelle, on the other hand, just doesn’t give the noise a microphone. “I try not to focus on what other people are doing,” she said. “Last year, I’d be watching other people during races like, ‘Oh no, I’m behind,’ when I really wasn’t. So, this year, I’ve just been focusing on my race.”
“What about when people say stuff about you?” Mikaela asked.
Michelle didn’t flinch. “Really, I don’t care,” she laughed. “If you’re saying something nice, thank you! But if you’re saying something bad, okay.”
Their mindset is not one they stumbled into — it’s something they were raised with.
At a bake sale fundraiser for the St. Croix Track Club, held the day before the Eunice Bedminster V.I. National Championship, Keith Smith reflected on the legacy he and his wife, Mireille, have passed down.
“What makes me most proud is, number one, that they honor God with their lives,” he said. “And number two, they’re having fun. They’re not just living — they’re thriving.”
He credits their strength to being raised in the Virgin Islands.
“We were in Michigan for a while,” he explained. “And it was tough. No community, no beach, no family gatherings. You didn’t feel that same love that you do in the Virgin Islands.”
“Here, life is different.”
“Every Sunday, we get together and eat. My mom makes Kalaloo,” he said, smiling. “That’s what makes athletes strong,” he went on, “Real food and family. When they compete, their bodies are strong. And they’re not only thinking about themselves; they have that extra push from all the people behind them, rooting them on.”
The community clearly feels the same. As customers browsed the bake sale, one paused to express her admiration. “I am so proud of you,” Maralyn Stanley told Michelle. “You’re proof that greatness can be bred right here in the Virgin Islands when you put in the hard work and you’re resilient. You’re an inspiration to the young athletes out here — an example of what’s possible for them.”
That authentic, deeply rooted love has shaped Michelle Smith into who she is today: even-keeled, disciplined, and — above all — still herself.
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