University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Aliyah Whisby
May 02, 2019 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Aliyah Whisby now calls Newnan, Ga., home, but the Georgia track and field sophomore long jumper and multi-events standout is really from all over Europe. Born in Madrid, Spain, she and her family also lived in Italy, Turkey, Russia, France and Poland while her father, Glen, played professional basketball.
Whisby, who placed seventh in the pentathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships earlier this year and currently has the longest long jump in the nation this outdoor season with a leap of 22 feet, 2 1/4 inches, competed at Kennesaw State as a freshman before joining the Bulldogs. She has been named the SEC Women's Field Athlete of the Week two weeks in a row.
On Wednesday, Whisby sat down for a Quick Chat to discuss growing up all over Europe, which event she likes the best, doing surgery (hypothetically), connecting with her late father who passed away in 2017 and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: Seeing all the places you've lived, you were like a global child. What was it like experiencing all of those different places and cultures at a young age?
Whisby: I didn't really know that it was something unique, it was more like, I'm used to this. It was normal for me, until I came back to the United States and all my friends were like, we've never been out of the country.
I got to experience different cultures and different types of people — it was amazing. I was able to get that experience and it doesn't happen often.
Frierson: Is there one place that's stuck with you the most?
Whisby: I've lived in seven different countries and they're all different, but I really liked Italy. Italy stuck out to me, because of the food, obviously. The food in different countries (from the U.S.), it's fresh and nothing's really processed and there's no GMOs — it's just a lot different.
Frierson: Of all the things that you do, which is your favorite event?
Whisby: I like the multis because I like being able to come back (in another event) after I mess up, but now that I've really figured out the long jump, I really think I like the long jump — and I might end up sticking with that.
Frierson: Well, you're obviously doing very, very well in the long jump right now. Leading the country has got to feel good.
Whisby: It feels great, I don't want it to end.
Frierson: What does it feel like to fly, even if it's only for 22 feet? Most of us don't know what it's like to soar more than a few feet, so compared to us you're flying.
Whisby: I just feel free; when I do long jump I just think of everything that's frustrating me at the moment and I just fly. It's like this is the best feeling because you're just flying through the air — until you hit the sand, obviously.
It's just the best feeling ever, and I feel like I can go further.
Frierson: What other sports did you play growing up? What were you good at and what were you maybe not so good at?
Whisby: Basketball, I played basketball and I just didn't get those genes. My dad played basketball professionally and I was just like, it's basketball and I'm going to be good because my dad was good — and that's not how that went (laughs).
I was better at track than I was at basketball, but I wish I was good at basketball.
Frierson: I actually looked on YouTube at some videos of your dad playing and I saw one where he was throwing down a big dunk. Did track and sports help you deal with his passing, just as a way to connect to him or as a way to take your mind off the pain of losing him?
Whisby: Yeah, definitely. What was hard for me, we talked about it all the time. He was like, "I'm going to come to your meet and we're going to do this." We set these goals out that I was going to get and it was just difficult when he passed away because he wasn't able to see my success now.
But it's definitely helped with my frustrations, using my pain to fuel me for competition and just to get me hyped. I know I can hear him in my mind saying, "You got this." It really helps.
Frierson: Do you ever look at other events like the pole vault and want to try them or do you look at them and go, those people are nuts?
Whisby: Actually, I tried pole vault at my last school. It was thrilling because you're in the air. I don't know why but I love being in the air.
I would love to try pole vault (for Georgia). I was actually talking to the coach a couple of weeks ago about trying pole vault and he was like, "Uh, no."
Frierson: You're not intimidated by being that high up?
Whisby: Not at all. I am intimidated by the distance events, like the steeplechase and all that. They can have that.
Frierson: If you could travel anywhere in the world on someone else's dime, and you're a person that's seen a good bit of the world, where would you like to go?
Whisby: I would probably go to Africa. I've never been to that part of the world and I would definitely like to see it.
Frierson: If you could be great at anything in the world for a day, just to experience it, what would it be?
Whisby: I would want to be a surgeon. If I could be great at being a surgeon, that would be cool, you know? Being inside of someone's brain or something like that.
Frierson: Would the visuals of everything that a surgeon sees freak you out?
Whisby: It wouldn't, my major is criminal justice so I'm interested in all that weird stuff.
Frierson: I was going to ask about your major, what led you in that direction?
Whisby: I have a lot of family members that are in the criminal justice system and the military. Me and my two brothers, we're all criminal justice majors and my mom was a criminal just major, as well.
I want to be in the FBI, that's my dream.
Frierson: I'll tell you one thing, no bad guy better try to outrun you, because that's not going to work out well for him.
Whisby: (Laughs) Yeah, I've got the physical part.
Frierson: That's an interesting family business you all have.
Whisby: Yeah, one of my brothers is actually a police officer now, he just became one.
Frierson: As someone that's lived all over Europe, what was the move to Newnan like? Was that a tough transition or did it quickly feel like home?
Whisby: It felt like home. My parents, they wanted us to have one set placed to call home and they wanted us to have American friends and be normal American kids.
My dad was like, "We've got to find a place to stay." We'd been bouncing all over the world, so we bought a house in Newnan; I don't know why they chose Newnan, but it was small and it felt like home.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
