Rebecca Jose comes from the land of some of Karnataka's most famous athletes - Vandana Rao and Anand Shetty to mention a few. Perhaps, that is a give away. Yes, she is from Mangalore. And it's time someone from the coastal district made headlines. Rebecca is doing just that right now.
Rebecca, a second year commerce student of Surana College, has already made her presence felt at major meets in the country. She has participated in international competitions as part of the Indian team for the CWG Youth Games in 2008 in Pune when she anchored the team to the 4 x 100 metres relay gold in the under-18 section. She was called for trials for the CWG meet in Delhi and the Asian Games in Guangzhou in 2010.
The 20-year-old Rebecca has been unstoppable in the state and university athletics meets as she sprints to glory in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and does her bit in the 4 x 100 metres relay events. Invariably, with Rebecca in the squad, the team has emerged triumphant and if not, at least bagged a silver or bronze.
Rebecca recently bagged the best sprinter title in the Bangalore University inter-collegiate athletics meet as she left everyone chasing her shadows in the 100 metres race, winning from the word go.
She is also the all-India inter-university sprint champion having won the glamour event before adoring home fans in Mangalore.
Rebecca also took part in triathlon at the state junior and senior levels but gave it up as she concentrated on emerging as the undisputed sprint queen in the country in the years ahead.
"I always liked to run and my parents admitted me to the Sports School in Kudige. Later, I shifted to Bangalore and continued my career in athletics," said Rebecca.
'My pet event is the 100 metres race and I just love to burst out of the blocks and keep going till I reach the finish line. Yes, the International rules disqualify you if you have a false start. That makes you careful and I think it is fair for everyone," said Rebecca, who has a 12.26 secs time as her best for the event which she clocked when winning the all-India varsity title.
"Somehow I am very injury prone but I work hard and keep running. I have a lot of faith in God and when I run I think God is making me run and I just want to win," she said.
"I don't have any idols as such but I have heard a lot about athletes like Vandana Rao, Poovamma, Ashwini etc. My aim is to compete with seniors at the international level and win a medal for myself and my country," Rebecca added.
"Right now, I am just recovering from injury. I need to get fitter and run faster. Hopefully, I will be able to realise my dreams sooner than later," Rebecca added. It's not often that a sprinting star appears on the horizon. Rebecca has and one hopes she will bring laurels for herself, the state and the country.