Jamaican Gabby Bailey overcomes cultural obstacles to star at Kent State

Gabby Bailey has grown more out of the throwing circle than in it since leaving Jamaica to join the Kent State track and field program back in 2019.

And that’s saying something.

Bailey has emerged as one of the top throwers in the Golden Flashes’ storied history, earning multiple Mid-American Conference titles and All-American honors while recording the program’s second-best throws in both the discus and shot put. She's just as proud of her ability to emerge from a personal shell and settle in at a school some 1,600 miles away from her home in Portmore.

“When I first came to Kent I did not speak to anybody. I just walked around like a ghost,” said Bailey, who will compete in the discus at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday in Eugene, Oregon. “I just heard one of the advisors who saw me when I first got here telling another advisor how amazed she was to see my transformation from then to now. Now I'm very sociable, very welcoming. I go around and talk to everybody. The environment here at Kent really opens up another side of you that you didn’t think was ever a part of you.

“I know it sounds cliché, but the people at Kent State make you feel like family.”

Gabby Bailey has evolved into an elite student-athlete at Kent State

The Flashes’ athletic support system has helped Bailey thrive at the collegiate level both athletically and academically. She recently earned First Team Academic All-District honors for the second straight year, shortly after defending her shot put title and finishing second in the discus at the 2022 MAC Outdoor Championships.

Juggling schoolwork and athletics in a new country has gone more smoothly than Bailey expected, thanks to her determination and the assistance she’s received.

“It's not really hard once you use your resources,” said Bailey, when asked how difficult it is to succeed both athletically and academically in college. “Kent State’s athletic department provides everything in every area that you need to be successful in your academic career and athletic career. Once you take advantage of that, you can’t really lose. They set aside time for you to study. If you have any questions you can go to your academic advisors. If you’re afraid to talk to your professor like me sometimes, just go to [the advisors] and they’ll help you out.”

Kent State assistant coach Nathan Fanger has become a father-figure to Gabby Bailey

While many people have helped Bailey settle in and ultimately enjoy tremendous success in all areas of her life at Kent State, she has leaned on one person in particular since the day she arrived on campus.

Nationally renowned throws coach Nathan Fanger is the sole reason Bailey chose Kent State, based on the efforts he put in to make fellow Jamaican Danniel Thomas-Dodd the 2017 national champion in the shot put. Thomas-Dodd was a 10-time All-American for the Flashes from 2013-17.

“Danniel and I were coached by the same high school coach, and he thought [Fanger] was the man,” said Bailey. “The first day he coached me he was like, yeah, you’re going to Kent, no doubt about it. I had other schools in mind, but he was pretty set on Kent. Based on what I've seen of him as a coach, whatever school he leads you to it always works in your favor.

“I guess he saw a little bit of Danniel in me, so he said Kent it was, and Kent it is today.”

Fanger has been everything Bailey imagined and then some, both as a coach and a mentor.

“He's not just a coach, he’s like a father figure. He really looks out for you not only athletically but academically, in all aspects of your life,” said Bailey. “I don’t think you’ll find a lot of coaches out there that are like that, who really play a role in every area of your life. He's big on breaking down stuff to the point where you can understand it, which especially helps me as an international student with the cultural differences and stuff like that.”

Adjustment to America took time for Jamaican Gabby Bailey

As one might expect, successfully transitioning from Jamaica to Northeast Ohio required an adjustment period for Bailey.

“At first it was a little bit awkward, I must say,” said Bailey. “Coming from Jamaica where it’s hot all year round, coming to a state where it snows the majority of the year, that was pretty awkward. I didn’t know how to feel about that. Then there were the cultural differences. When I first came here stuff you expect to see, you didn’t see it happening. I really had to take some time to fall back, observe the environment and just get with the program.”

Bailey started to settle in as an athlete as a freshman in 2019, qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the shot put. The following season was cut short by the pandemic, but once normalcy returned Bailey quickly rose into the ranks of the national throwing elite.

Bailey captured her first MAC crown in 2021, winning the indoor shot put title with a toss of 55 feet, 3 inches, then earned First Team All-American honors for the first time by finishing sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships (56-1.75). She rode that momentum into the outdoor season, capturing MAC titles in both the shot put (55-1) and discus (183-5). Bailey qualified for the 2021 NCAA Championships in both events, and earned First Team All-American honors once again by finishing sixth in the discus (189-5).

Despite battling injuries this season, Bailey still managed to finish second in the shot put at the MAC Indoor Championships (54-6) before adding a win in the shot put (55-10.25) and runner-up finish in the discus (171-9) at the 2022 MAC outdoor meet.

Bailey needed a clutch effort on her final throw to qualify for the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships, unleashing a toss of 180-1 that moved her all the way up to third place at the regional meet in Indiana.

Bailey currently ranks second to Thomas-Dodd in the KSU record books in both the shot put and discus, but will take aim at the discus school record of 194-10 this Saturday in Eugene.

“I’m definitely going for the school record. Two hundred feet is my goal,” said Bailey. “I've been praying for healing, praying for a good meet. Now I'm feeling good physically and I'm prepared mentally. Track is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical, and I'm there 100 percent. I know something good will come in this meet.”

The best is yet to come for Kent State track standout Gabby Bailey

Although listed as a senior, Bailey still has eligibility remaining and will throw for the Flashes one final time next season. She plans to continue rewarding those who have helped her at Kent State by shining brightly as a student-athlete on college track and field’s main stages.

“The journey at Kent has been pretty enjoyable,” said Bailey. “The friendly environment makes it easy to [maximize] your talent and potential. I’ve really enjoyed my time at Kent, and the results are there to show the work has been done. I'll continue to do the work to keep putting Kent State on the map.”

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Gabby Bailey has made a successful transition from Jamaica to KSU