CLEVELAND, Miss. - When it comes to athletic pedigree, Delta State University cross country runner Valeria Uvarova's is nothing short of spectacular.  Her father, Pavel Uvarov, represented the family's native country of Kyrgyzstan in modern pentathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics; her mother, Roza Bikkinina, was a World Cup medalist in the same sport before becoming an internationally-ranked masters fencer.  While most children her age were going to birthday parties and sleepovers, Uvarova instead remembers shuttling back and forth between her parents' practices and competitions.
 

"They were high-level athletes, and I loved watching them," said the junior transfer student.  "I was always growing up in gyms and swimming pools; my parents were always taking me with them."
 
It was only natural that Uvarova should follow in her parents' athletic footsteps.  At age three, she began taking gymnastics lessons; by age six, she was already specializing in the rhythmic variation.  Uvarova was successful, steadily rising through the Kyrgyzstani age group rankings over the next five years.  Eventually though, the pull of her parents' favorite pastime was too much to ignore. 
 
"With gymnastics scoring, I did not know what other girls were doing that I wasn't," said Uvarova.  "I wanted something where the fastest wins." 
 
Around that same time, Bikkinina switched from coaching Olympic-level swimmers to training pentathletes.  Uvarova made the transition with her.  Already a strong swimmer and runner, it did not take long for her to pick up the sport's other three disciplines: fencing, pistol, and equestrian show jumping.
 
"I was just living pentathlon," said Uvarova.  "I started to compete on junior levels.  I started to have a dream to get to the Junior Olympics."
 
In order to make the Kyrgyzstan Junior Olympic team, Uvarova first needed to qualify for the Junior World Championships.  Doing so required accumulating points, which in turn, required competing—and placing—in as many competitions are possible.  As a result, Uvarova spent ages 17 and 18 traveling to events throughout all of Europe and Asia.  Because of her country's financial limitations, she often traveled without her parents and stayed alone or with a family friend.  Her commitment paid off though, as Uvarova eventually achieved a top-ten world ranking and an invitation to the 2013 Junior World Championships, held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
 
"I was swimming in the pool next to [Olympians] Missy Franklin and Ryan Lochte," said Uvarova.  "I felt like I could not have imagined this life.  I got so involved, and I fell in love with sports even more."
 
Uvarova would not only win the junior world title in Colorado, accomplishing her dream of qualifying for the Junior Olympics the following year in China, but she also attracted the attention of New Mexico Military Institute cross country coach, Jan Olesinski, who was there watching the event.  A two-time Olympian in pentathlon for his native country of Poland, Olesinski offered Uvarova a scholarship to run cross country and to compete with the junior college's world-renowned pentathlon club.
 

"When Coach told me about the opportunity, I just thought, 'United States?  That is so far away,'" said Uvarova.  "I have home, I have life, I have everything.  I don't want to do it."
 
Uvarova's parents saw the offer differently, encouraging their daughter to keep an open mind.

"My mom was like, 'Look, it is a great opportunity.  You are not going to lose anything.  You will just gain,'" said Uvarova.  "She said you can always go back home, but you do not know if you are going to get this same opportunity again."
 
After taking a year off to train for the Junior Olympics, Uvarova heeded her parents' advice, packed her bags, and relocated 7,000 miles to Roswell, New Mexico.  While the language barrier may have been difficult at first—"People were talking so fast!" Uvarova exclaimed—the running came easily.  Uvarova dipped under the 19-minute 5K mark and finished the season ranked in the conference's top-25.  She spent the offseason focusing on pentathlon as planned, even traveling with the club to Italy to compete in the World Cup.
 
Unfortunately the extended season took its toll.  Uvarova struggled with injury during her second season at NMMI, which she attributes to running too high of mileage in an effort to improve on her first-year times.  As always though, her parents were there to support her.
 
"Growing up with them and watching them, I learned patience," said Uvarova.  "It was never easy for them.  They went through a lot of injuries like all professional athletes.  They had misunderstandings with coaches and federations.  They taught me that if you love to do something, you should keep doing it no matter what."
 
Such a mentality is what led Uvarova to Googling other American universities, in search of one that would allow her to extend her running career beyond junior college.  Somehow, she ended up on the Delta State website and found the email address of cross country coach, Doug Pinkerton. 
 
One correspondence led to another; four months later, Uvarova now finds herself in Cleveland, Mississippi, majoring in biology while serving as an invaluable cog on the Lady Statesmen's squad.
 
"We're lucky to get her," said Pinkerton.  "She's been a big positive for us, with her work and attitude.  I think she has a chance to be one of our top runners if she stays healthy.  Learning to speak Russian has been fun, too."
 
While Uvarova's current focus is on running, she hopes eventually to transition to triathlon.
 
"I always wanted to do triathlon," said Uvarova.  "Pentathlon was sometimes self-restraining.  I would kill the run and the swim, but I just wouldn't fence well or something.  Triathlon is an all-endurance sport."
 
She dabbled in pentathlon's multidisciplinary cousin over the summer, actually winning Kyrgyzstan's first-ever triathlon national championships and earning the right to represent her country at next summer's Asian Games.  After that, Uvarova will weigh her options. 
 
While she dreams of following her father's Olympic legacy, she also wants to finish her degree and possibly pursue a career as a physical therapist assisting elite athletes.  Regardless of which path Uvarova chooses, one thing is for sure: no matter how long or how circuitous the journey, sports will always be the anchor.
 
"I am where I am because of sports," Uvarova said.  "People are always saying academics first, but I say athletics and academics are on the same level.  I became myself because I met so many people from so many different countries.  It has just totally change my mind, my approach, my everything.  Athletics determine who I am."