Beaver Falls Olympian to speak at Tabernacle Baptist Church for annual Black History Event

BEAVER FALLS ― Beaver Falls track legend Candy Young will be the featured speaker during a Black History Month celebration this weekend at Tabernacle Baptist Church in the city.

The 1980 Olympian and Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame member, said she always had high aspirations of becoming an Olympic champion.

Her thoughts and dreams ultimately came true after a highly successful high school and collegiate career.

Growing up in a loving household of eight girls and one boy, led by her parents, the Rev. John E. Young Sr. and Gertie Mae Gardner Young, Candy recalls developing her love for track and field as a youngster with influence from her older sister, Gayle Young.

“Just playing outside and running and jumping over everything,” recalled the woman born Canzetta Young. “My mother named me for the famous gospel singer, Cassietta George of The Caravans,” said the divorced mother of two adult children – now known as Minister Candy Young Sanders.

Though she was reared under her father’s churches at Christ Temple Church Of God In Christ in Beaver Falls and Bible Way COGIC in New Castle, on Sunday Young returns to her Beaver Falls roots as featured speaker for the 39th annual Black History Symposium at Tabernacle Baptist Church at 3 p.m.

The church is located at 630 Third Ave.

Longtime Tabernacle parishioner and event chairman Linwood Alford Sr. said the church is honored to have Young as its featured speaker, a local youngster who rose to become a nationally ranked high school hurdler to collegiate and world-class renown.

By 1980, she had earned her way onto the U.S. Olympic Team, but when Russia invaded Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter deemed it necessary to halt the U.S. presence at the Moscow, Russia-based Olympics that year.

Concerning what was initially considered a disappointment no longer negatively impacts her, Young recently said from her Jacksonville, Florida, residence.

“At a certain point, you have to let it go,” she said. The entire 1980 U.S. Qualifying team received Bronze medals and the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor, she said.

Alford said attendees will be offered a chance to hear her exciting story since she graduated from Beaver Falls High School in 1980.

“As a community, we’ve followed this young lady’s career from day one,” said Alford. “She’s represented western Pennsylvania in a spiritually respectful manner, in addition to her athletic success,” said Alford, who’s likewise forever acclaimed for his ongoing relationship as Joe Willie Namath’s high school teammate and childhood friend.

Young said recently her message at the program will target her lifelong religious commitment and as a child growing up in a household with religious constraints.

“We were sheltered in some respects, but that helped me become more disciplined and focused on my goals. Even in my younger years, I’ve always been an aspiring minister at my father’s church in New Castle,” she said.

“It’s really all been about my faith as a believer. I tell young people that athletic success takes more than natural talent. Hard work and more hard work is what it takes to excel beyond your nearest competitor.”

During her teenage years, Young was able to rise to the top, amid perennial successful female and male athletes throughout greater Pittsburgh. This included her fellow Beaver Falls Fighting Tigers such as Dwight Collins, Ron Rowan and Forrest “BayBro” Grant.

In 1980, Young set a world record in the 100-meter hurdles (12.94 seconds) during her senior year at Beaver Falls. That same year, she earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic 100-meter hurdle team.

She credits her high school track coach, the late Karlin “Butch” Ryan for being “very instrumental” in her initial success. “He helped me seek ways for improvement and he created fund-raisers to support my travel expenses,” Young said.

She was always accompanied by a family member on all her trips, she added. In high school, she traveled to Russia and Germany for competitions.

As one of many students who lived on “the Hill” in Beaver Falls, they had to walk to school, across the train tracks. “We probably should have had access to a bus, but those walks helped propel my physicality as a runner and jumper,” Young said. “No regrets.”

After high school, she competed at Farleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J., where she became an eight-time All-Amercan and a world-record holder in the indoors 55-meter hurdles. She also earned a biology/science degree from the university.

Young was then recruited to become a biology and science teacher at East Side High School in Paterson, N.J., the famed school featured in the 1989 film “Lean On Me.”

“Joe Clark, our principal, was a good man,” she said. “And Morgan Freeman nailed his depiction in his starring role.” Young was offered a part in the movie, but had left the school after starting a new job by the time filming started.

After three years at East Side High, Young served as an assistant men's and women’s track coach at several colleges, including California State University (Pa.), Pitt, Ohio State and Seton Hall University. Her Seton Hall women’s track team was Big East Champions in 1992-93. She also served as the head coach of the USA World University team in 1997.

Young recently retired from Delaware State University, an HBCU in Dover, Delaware. While earning a master’s degree in sports management, she began working as Del-State’s women’s track coach.

Soon enough, Young ascended to escalating administrative positions including director of program services and eventually became Del-State’s first woman athletic director. She earned a master’s degree in sports management from Del-State

These days Young is an ordained minister with Nashville-based, Christian Global Outreach Ministries. She’s often invited to share her valued experiences on the lecture circuit as a missionary.

Through it all, Candy has authored two books, “Holiness is Right” and “The First Ladies Bible.”

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Beaver Falls Olympian Candy Young speaking at Tabernacle Baptist Church