Gold Award Girl Scout Breaks Track Records
Gold Award Girl Scout Ziyah Holman didn’t set out to star in a viral video in her very first University of Michigan track and field meet at age 19, but footage of her sprinting past the competition from behind quickly garnered national attention.
She ran the anchor leg in a 4x400 relay, her first college meet, and stunned watchers by making up a four-second deficit to come from behind and bring home the win for Ann Arbor.
Ziyah, who is now a junior in college at University of Michigan, has always been a team player—something she learned in Girl Scouts. Her tight-knit troop started as Brownies and stayed together even as Ambassadors, despite going to different schools. (Not only were the girls close friends, their parents—including her mother, who was their troop leader—were close too.)
Her troop mates were not surprised to see Ziyah stun the world—they had watched grow up as a runner, winning gold medals and state titles as a high school track star.
“I came in [to college] with a record that gave me confidence in my ability and tried to apply that confidence from high school [to the University of] Michigan,” explains Ziyah.
Her high school record certainly paid off—her ranking earning her a full scholarship.
“But I still felt fortunate to have made a name for myself in my first collegiate race.”
Ziyah remembers that day in January 2021 vividly.
“We got the baton pretty far back. You can try not to be embarrassed and just jog it … or you can do your best to get back in front. And I did what I was used to—I was focused on winning and being a good teammate.”
After the video got over 100 million views and was showcased in newspapers across the country—including The Washington Post and USA Today—as well as on NBC’s Today show and ABC’s World News Tonight, Ziyah started getting a lot of attention on campus and beyond. She remembers being excited when Gabrielle Union posted about her win on social media and adds that a lot of her classmates’ parents saw the footage on TV.
“A lot of blessings have come from that video,” she says, nodding to deals she made with brands like American Eagle and Champion. “And it has inspired other track girls to not give up.”
“But I have always believed,” she adds, “that anything is possible.”
