“Jaiya has been running track since she was 7 years old,” said Kevin, who is retired from the Air Force after 33 years of service. “The very first time she ran competitively, she earned a medal and went straight to the nationals. She is just uber talented.”
Jaiya’s passion for running was obvious from the first and her speed has always made her a standout. She started winning medals in most every competition she entered.
“I noticed that Jaiya started to try to run as a baby in her walker,” Kevin said. “I knew she would be a runner all her life.”
As she grew, Jaiya’s parents decided that track and field competitions would be a great tool to teach their daughter discipline and communication skills. They knew instinctively from early on that Jaiya had a big personality that would match her big dreams.
“Jaiya has always been an honor roll student with distinction,” Kevin said. “She was homeschooled starting in kindergarten, then again in the third grade and 6th and now 7th grades.”
Like all school children, Jaiya was homeschooled during the COVID-19 pandemic lock down and her parents decided to keep her home even after others returned to school buildings.
“Because Jaiya runs at a high level, she could not afford to get sick and have her lungs affected,” Kevin said.
Now with the pandemic in a new phase, Jaiya is looking forward to returning to a brick-and-mortar school for 8th grade in the fall. She has always been an “unattached” athlete, competing in both national and regional track and field events independently.
Over the course of Jaiya’s running career, she has set records and placed in the Junior Olympics, both indoor and outdoor, multiple times.
And though her running career keeps her busy enough, it is far from her only interest.
“Jaiya has enjoyed modeling since she was five years old,” Kevin said. “I knew she would be great at it, and it would help her become even more well-rounded.”
Modeling for national brands like Walmart and Justice, Jaiya has also participated in several beauty pageants and is signed with the Heyman Talent Agent in Cincinnati.
And though her parents have always been cautious about Jaiya’s social media usage, her presence on both TikTok and Instagram has blown up with that “big” personality her dad always knew she had, helping her gain thousands of followers.
“In January of this year, Jaiya went viral for a treadmill run she posted on TikTok,” Kevin said. “We never thought about putting her on social media but when her trainers clocked her at 17 MPH on the treadmill, they thought we should post it.”
That treadmill run was shared countless times and Jaiya started getting a lot of attention from national brands like ESPN and Sports Illustrated. She has more than 164,000 followers on TikTok and 13,300 followers on Instagram. She has been awarded ambassador and influencer status for the Justice brand of children’s clothing.
But all of this attention hasn’t changed the smart, self-assured and always pragmatic 7th grader whom her parents say has known what she wants and how to get there from those first few running steps in her walker.
“I’m good at running in general and always have been,” Jaiya said. “But it took a lot of work to get the form and technique down. I have natural speed, but I have to practice everything else.”
In addition to her running and modeling, Jaiya loves to draw, sells her oil paintings on eBay and donates the funds to charity. Her two favorites are The Shriners Hospitals and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She also enjoys dancing, singing and playing tennis.
As for her future, Jaiya, like many talented athletes, dreams of the Olympics and is working hard to prepare for the games in 2024. Through track, she met four-time Olympian Jackie Joyner Kersee, who is Jaiya’s godmother.
She’s also excited about returning to a regular school building next year and being around her friends. One day she hopes to go to college at either Brown or Harvard universities.
“I’ve gotten a lot of comments on social media and in person from people saying I’m really talented and they want to follow my journey to the Olympics,” Jaiya said. “But I also want to have my own art museum.”
Follow Jaiya’s journey on Instagram and TikTok @jaiyapatilloofficial
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