Fairfax City Girl Breaks National Track Record

Could a 2028 Olympian hail from right here in Fairfax City?

If you ask 8-year-old Rachel Wilson, she'll tell you it could happen — for her, and her brother Jack, too.

Wilson broke a national record last month at the 2013 USATF National Youth Indoor Track & Field Championships 

The then-7-year-old's time in the 400-meter race was 1:12:40, good enough to not only set a new record for girls under 8 years old, but also to beat the previous record time by five seconds, the Washington Post reports.

Wilson, a student at Daniels Run Elementary School, runs with the Fairfax Police Youth Club, a youth sports organization founded by the City of Fairfax's police chief. It celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

To earn the title, she beat out other girls from clubs in New Jersey to North Carolina and Illinois, according to USATF results.

She also grabbed second place in the 55-meter dash with a time of 8.75, according to race results — missing first place by just .03 seconds. Her brother ran three races, though he didn't grab any medals this time around.

Father Hank Wilson, who has become both Rachel and Jack's coach, told the Washington Post both kids tried the sport on a whim and immediately took the regional spotlight in sprinting events. 

Track, he said, may be the next soccer, as far as popularity among kids. 

The siblings will look to kick off the spring season for FPYC at its opening meet, 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Fairfax High School.