American Carmellia Shivers-Cole

 was seventh of 17 in the W45 heptathlon at Lyon worlds. But her story, as much as the medalists, is worth telling for what she overcame to finish — lupus and leg injury. She also is a success story from national chair Gary Snyder’s 2014 pay-for-a-newbie plan. In reply to a Q&A request, she wrote: “My focus is always my family because they are the ones who keep me going.” She and her husband Randy, a retired Navy officer, have two sons named for Texas cities — Houston (12) and Austin (10). She writes: “I know my boys are going to be big important men and they needed the biggest state to hold them. Houston was diagnosed with autism around 28 months and Austin was diagnosed at 4 years old. It was very challenging as a military family as children with autism because they are used to schedules and do not like change. We moved every 18 months to two years and there were a lot of changes. By the second grade, Houston had attended six different schools. Houston was 16 months delayed and was nonverbal so it was like having twins because they were reaching milestones at the same time.”

Carmellia, 46, continues:

I did not hear the word Momma till my second child Austin said it. It has not been easy and was a lot of hard work, frustration and tears but my boys have come such a long way. They are a model of success for kids who have autism and doing well. So much so that Autism Speaks will highlight them in an upcoming Autism Gala event in the Atlanta area in October. They are sending a news crew to our home. I am so proud of them.

Masterstrack.com: Where do you live, and what do you do for a living?

Carmellia Shivers-Cole: We live in Dallas, Georgia, and I am mostly a stay-at-home mom who does personal training, athletic coaching and educational coaching as a self-employment business. I am also an assistant coach at Morehouse College. My legacy is that I am the only woman to be hired as a coach in the history of Morehouse College and the only women track and field head coach in the history of Howard University.

Tell me about your lupus — how did it develop, what are the symptoms?

Mayo Clinic defines lupus as an autoimmune disease where you immune system attacks your own tissue and organs. Inflammation caused by lupus can affect your body systems including joints, skin, kidney, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs. Symptoms of lupus can be extreme fatigue, headaches, painful joints, fever, anemia, swelling, pain in chest, butterfly rashes across cheeks and nose, sun or light sensitivity, hair loss, confusion, mouth or nose ulcers and lesions.

I was diagnosed with lupus in 2009. I was experiencing severe fatigue, shortness of breath, hair loss, mouth ulcers, and lesions and had lost 25 pounds. My husband was in Afghanistan, Austin was having issues of anxiety and depression and in process of getting autism testing, and my mom’s basement apartment where we were living had been flooded in the Powder Springs GA flood.

We lost all of our things. I just figured it was stress, but when I went to the doctor they ran tests and a biopsy of my skin and found out I had Lupus. I believe the extreme stress must have set off my flare-ups.

What are your all-time track bests? What were your biggest accomplishments in sport?

I was a full scholarship athlete at Florida State University from 1989-1991 under head coach Terry Long. I had no intention of running for FSU but was a scholarship athlete from Florida Community College who used to beat their hurdlers. I was running track when I first arrived at FSU out of frustration with financial aid when someone ran me down, knew who I was and offered me a scholarship on the spot.

It was faith as I did not know how I was going to pay for college. There I became a hepthathlete and All-American. My best at FSU were high jump 5-11, long jump 19-1, shot put 44 feet, 100m hurdles in 13.44, 200 in 24.23, javelin 137-8 and 800 in 2:15. I also ran 400 hurdles in 56.97 and 400 in 53.96. Wow, those were the good days for me. I am nowhere near those marks 25 years later. It is amazing that some of the women my age are close.

My biggest accomplishments in sports was when I was training for the Olympic Trials. I had two jobs, and helping my mom take care of my bedridden grandma, 2 nieces, 2 nephews, 1 sister and 2 brothers ranging in age from 1 to 15 years old. It was interesting days. I would finish training at 12 in the morning sometimes and running on a dark track. I did not make it to the Trials, but I was 18th in the U.S and 50th in world that year. I did my best under the circumstances and I was happy with that.

Tell me about each event in your Lyon hep.

The Lyon hep was a great experience. I was excited to be there on a world championship level. guess you can say it was like my Olympics I never got to attend.

80 hurdles: I felt really good and ran my best masters time.

High jump: My bad knee was my jump leg and I had to wear my bulky brace. I did get over 1.43 (4-8 1/4) and do not think my knee stopped me from jumping higher; it was more my technique and approach.

Shot put: I was very disappointed as I have thrown over 11 meters (36-1 1/4) but could not keep the shot in the ring. I had to punt to get in a safe throw and it was only 10 meters (32-9 3/4). I just could not complete a switch at the end of my throw.

200: This was my first 200 race in 19 years. I thought I would run maybe a 31 or 32. I was happy with running a 29.

Long jump: Because my jump knee is the injured knee, I changed my jump leg right before U.S. outdoor championships in Jacksonville. I jumped a 5.50 (18-0 1/2) which is not bad for the wrong leg. This event was the beginning of the end of my injured knee, though.

Javelin: The first throw was the best one — close to 30 meters (98-5) which is what I anticipated, but it did not make a mark. It was hard to plant without pain. I did not throw my best, but I did get a mark.

800: It was not a pretty sight. My knee hurt from the start. I was going to stop on the back stretch on the second lap, but I wanted everyone and my kids to know that Americans do not quit. It hurt like heck, but I finished. I am still limping this morning, (Sunday) but it is better than before. I know it is a patella issue and I will get to the doctor this week.

What were your goals for Lyon? Did you meet them?

My goals for Lyon were to come in the top 5. I believe if I had thrown my average in the shot and jav I could have been close to if not in the top 5. I will have to settle for top 10 till next time.

How did your family support you in Lyon?

My family was wonderful. I had a photographer, someone to stretch me, a massage person and anything else I needed. There were a total of 10 of us — my mom, dad, sister, husband and our children. That is the way we roll in my family. I would have had more, but some could not make it. Support from my family is so important, and just having them there made me want to do more.

We stayed at the Temporim Lyon Cite Internationale. It was an apartment hotel across from a park that has a zoo, lakes, biking, boating, playgrounds and many other things. The kids had the best time and the staff was wonderful.

What led you to return to track, and when?

I started a year ago at the masters 2014 outdoor championship in Winston-Salem. They offered a grant for first-time masters runners and I thought: “Why not, it would be good for me.” I worked out for three weeks and did the pentathlon and won. I thought to myself: I still have it. I noticed my joints felt so much better when I got moving and when my muscles started getting stronger.

Will you continue competing in masters track? What other goals do you have?

I will continue in masters track. I want to continue being healthy by exercising and lifting to help fight my lupus. My goal is also to break a world record. I do not think it is something out of my reach. I have only been running one year and train only three days a week. I know my body is not as healthy and strong as it can be and when I get up to at least 95 percent I can only imagine where I will go.

My dad is already looking into open events he thinks I can run and win also. I told him: Just hold your horses, Dad. I think I will put him in a couple of open events. He is 68 and he would do well.

How might masters track be a better experience for newcomers like you?

It was actually a very good experience coming in. I just wish I knew more about it earlier. I think more advertising outside of the masters organization would be good. When I speak to everyone, I let them know of my experience and how wonderful and supportive everyone is no matter if you are a great or not so great athlete.

I think I have one of my friends convinced for cross country running. It could also be a little expensive to get to events if you cannot afford it. Maybe sponsorship of some type could help. I had to do a gofundme page in order to make the trip and bring my boys, which was the most important thing for me.

Who on the U.S. team in Lyon have you gotten to know — or become close to?

I was only there for the multi-events and had to leave on the Aug. 7 as my kids had already missed a week out of school. I already knew my fellow U.S. hepthathletes Ginny Richburg, Jo Phelps, Stacey Nobel and Vicki Fox. These are such great ladies, and we all showed our support for each other.

What’s the best part of your Lyon experience? The worst part?

The best part of Lyons was having my family there to experience a world-class adventure. We had the best time. We flew into Paris and drove down to Lyons. It was so wonderful to see us all experience different cultures, food, surroundings and people. Our memories will last a lifetime.

The worst part was my injured knee and the inexperience of some of the officials in how to run the multi-events. I did not get enough time for the 200. We are supposed to have 30 minutes, but I only got about 15 before they were lining me up to run and I had not done any strides or sprints. Then we had to wait an hour to run the 800.

Anything else my readers should know about you as an athlete or person?

I try to have a positive attitude during good and bad times. It is not always easy, but just as you train as an athlete you have to train to be positive. Keep a smile on your face even if you do not feel it. Sometimes a smile on the outside can change your mood on the inside.

I believe that no matter what, things will work out the way they are supposed to be. Sometimes the big things can overwhelm the little things and it is the little thing that counts the most. Those little things allow me to have big dreams and a big smile.

• Carmellia’s Day 1 events
• Carmellia’s Day 2 events

Hep results from Lyon:

W45 Heptathlon
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WMA: # 6006
Name Age Team Finals
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1 4589 Krefting, Monique W45 Great Britai 5733
2 1676 Bajeat, Petra W49 France 5561
3 389 Lambert, Lenore W45 Australia 5089
4 6148 Smit, Ingrid W47 Netherlands 5087
5 4675 Oliver, Louise W45 Great Britai 4894
6 311 Carah, Karen W47 Australia 4832
7 8046 Shivers-Cole, Carm W46 United State 4732
8 4270 Wrzesniok, Korneli W49 Germany 4609
9 5259 Ansaldi, Chiara W47 Italy 4544
10 4431 Dickinson, Janet W48 Great Britai 4533
11 6756 Breganski, Mojca W45 Slovenia 4443
12 3833 Holzapfel, Andrea W49 Germany 4313
13 4576 Jones, Dawn W45 Great Britai 4305
14 3663 Doerks, Anja W47 Germany 4165
15 4272 Wulfert, Astrid W47 Germany 3790
16 3774 Haemsch, Annegret W46 Germany 3593
17 3796 Heidenmann, Silke W45 Germany 3345