AUSTIN, Texas -- As a way to commemorate the final competition of her Gators career, senior jumper Yanis David shared a letter from her older self to her younger self in a video diary posted on the NCAA Track & Field Twitter page.
The 21-year-old David spoke of the sacrifices she made growing up in Guadeloupe, a group of French islands in the Caribbean. She spoke of the fear she had to overcome to leave home and enroll at UF. She spoke of longs days and nights engulfed by tears during her transition to the U.S.
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With the sun starting to fade Saturday night here at Michael A. Myers Stadium, David shifted into reflective mode once more at the conclusion of the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Gators women's team finished sixth overall, and David, the national champion in the long jump and runner-up in the triple jump, accounted for 18 of Florida's 32 points. The only woman in the field to score more (20) was LSU's Sha'Carri Richardson, who headlined the event's final day by setting a collegiate record in the women's 100-meter dash.
David became the first UF woman to win the NCAA long-jump national title on Thursday. In her quest to claim the triple-jump crown Saturday, David was in good position with a leap of 13.93 meters in the final round for a total of 45 feet, 8.5 inches. However, Kansas State's Shardia Lawrence soared 13.99 feet (45-10 ¾ total) on the final jump of the event, edging David for the national championship.
"I knew that my future depended on this day,'' Lawrence told reporters afterward.
While a bittersweet ending to her college career, David's familiar smile refused to be concealed for too long. She had come too far.
"If somebody is going to beat me, it's not going to be at my worst. It's going to be at my best,'' David said. "If somebody beats me, then it means they actually did their thing today. To me, showing that to my teammates means a lot to me as a leader."
David exits UF with her place in the program's history secure. She is the only woman in history on the collegiate all-time top 10 in both horizontal jumps and owns the school records in both events.
She has leaped from one world to another since Gators assistant coach
Nic Petersen spotted her at the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda when David was 15. Petersen didn't know who she was but instantly recognized her potential.
"She was jumping so far and she was so raw,'' Petersen said. "I had to have her."
Petersen's pursuit started with a "hi" at those CARIFTA (Caribbean Free Trade Association) Games that he and David joke about now since she doesn't remember him being there.
He eventually found proof in an online video of her performance. Petersen is easy to spot.
"She won at this meet,'' Petersen said. "You Google it on YouTube, and there's one white person in the stands. You can see my bald head."
Knowing he had watched a possible diamond in the rough, Petersen began to develop a relationship with David's coach in Guadeloupe and slowly connected with David, who did not speak English.
They mostly talked online as Petersen shared information on UF, the program and his coaching technique. It was slow going at first.
"We used a lot of Google translator,'' he said.
David eventually decided to join the Gators and enrolled at UF in the spring of 2016 knowing very little English and less of the culture. Despite her new surroundings and missing her life back home -- she often practiced early in the morning on tropical beaches near her home -- David blossomed. By the time of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, she showed her promise with a third-place finish in the triple jump and finished eighth in the long jump, becoming the first UF freshman to score in the long jump at the outdoor finals.
David has scored consistently for the Gators at the Southeastern Conference championships and the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor finals for four consecutive years. With her college career over, the next goal is to represent France in the Olympics. She plans to continue training in Gainesville and wants to work out some kinks in her body prior to going to Sweden next month for the European U23 Championships.
She said goodbye to competing for the Gators in a good mindset following Saturday's performance.
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Gators senior Yanis David receives a hug from teammate Grant Holloway on Saturday following her final performance for the Gators. (Photo: Alex de la Osa/UAA Communications)
"I think I did a pretty amazing job since I got here,'' she said. "I kept growing up, growing up. I started third my freshman year [at the NCAA Outdoors], then second and then first. I still wanted that first spot on the podium either in the long or the triple, and I got it. So I feel pretty good about this. My PR kept increasing. I accomplished a lot. I'm even on the Bowerman list, which is something I never thought I would do."
Off the track, David is now fluent in English. It's one of the many ways to measure her progress the past three and a half years beyond the final marks in her events.
Petersen shared in the final moments of David's Gators journey on Saturday, taking photos and reminiscing with David during the postmeet awards ceremony. What a trip it's been.
"She had a great championship, winning her first national title,'' he said. "She had some adversity and she battled, she just got beat on the last jump. You've got to give it to the other girl. She did it. Overall, I'm just so proud to have been a part of her career. She has meant the world to us and this program."
In some ways, David appears to be just getting started. She is among the youngest elite jumpers on the international stage. Most female long- and triple-jumpers tend to peak around age 26 to 28.
Whatever the future holds for David, she made a name for herself while at UF. Her family in Guadeloupe might not know English like she does, but they understand what she's accomplished.
"They all know that I'm a great athlete and that I compete at the highest level,'' she said.
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