Angel Frank is proud of her heritage. The senior sprinter for South Carolina track and field grew up in Charleston, but with her father, Carlos, hailing from the Philippines, she proudly had the opportunity to compete in the archipelagic country last month and won the Philippine National Championship in the 400 meters and also set a Philippine national record in the race.
“My father is Filipino,” said Frank, who will graduate in May with a degree in visual communications. “They came over to the U.S. when he was three years old. He and my grandmother got their citizenship when they came here. I didn’t have a lot of contact with my family over there. It was just my grandmother who instilled me with Filipino principles and food! That’s what kept me connected.
“I was watching the previous Olympics, and there was an athlete who was African American and Filipino, and that triggered a desire in me to see if I could pursue that for myself. It started the process of me getting in contact with their national team and work towards dual citizenship.”
Both of Frank’s parents were college sprinters. Carlos ran track and played football at The Citadel, while her mother, Sindy, ran track at Roanoke College in Virginia. However, neither pushed her into running competitively.
“I started running competitions in the first grade,” Frank said. “A friend in elementary school told me I should run on a team with her, so I did. I started running the 100 and 200 meters. My high school coach forced me to run the 400, and I didn’t like it at first, but it ended up being my best event. I enjoy competing, but what I enjoy most is the training part. I like going out there every day, being around my teammates, and focusing on what I need to improve each day. You do get a rush every time you have a good workout, and I like that.
“The coaching staff in general here believed in me before I really saw it in myself. They’re always there for encouragement and supporting me in whatever I do. (Assistant) Coach (for sprints and hurdles) Karim (Abdel Wahab) has helped me develop into the person I am now, mentally, and physically. I attribute a lot of my success to him.”
Frank has been on a solid trajectory with her running career. She earned First Team All-America honors with the Gamecocks last year in the 4×400 after finishing fifth in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She had also qualified for the 400 meters and the 4×100 at the 2022 NCAA Championships….