Gracie Hunt(Image via Getty Images)
Hunt won Miss Kansas USA in 2021 and went on to compete at Miss USA. Still, she found other ways to channel her competitive drive. She also took on the challenge of marathon running, giving herself a new athletic goal after leaving soccer.
“When you’re that age, you don’t really know what you want to do with your life, you may or may not even know where you want to go to college, but you have your sport,” Hunt said in the interview. Hunt described the experience as “incredibly painful,” reflecting how closely she had tied her identity to the sport. Hunt opened up about the difficult transition during an interview with Her Campus while attending Southern Methodist University. She had hoped to play college soccer, but her fourth concussion forced her to rethink that goal. “But for me, that was all taken, and it really forced me to reevaluate what I wanted to do. Losing soccer meant more than giving up a game.
“Sports empower women,” Hunt told Gaines, explaining how athletics can shift the focus from appearance to health and performance. “There’s so much misconception out there that if you lift weights, you’re going to be bulky and big,” Hunt told Gaines during the podcast. “That is not how it works. it did not end her connection with sports Although her fourth concussion ended her plans for college soccer. Hunt’s journey has taken her from the soccer field to pageants, marathons and the weight room. Her goals have changed, but the drive to challenge herself remains.