Makiah Parker, left, rejoices with her Wiesbaden teammate Lana Winters after winning the girls 200-meter dash finals at the 2024 DODEA European Championships at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 24, 2024. Parker ran 24.51 seconds, while Winters finished third with 25.60 seconds. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

When Makiah Parker told her father Michael she wanted to compete in track and field in college at the age of 10 years old, he reminded her it was going to be a marathon and not a sprint.

Yes, he gets the irony.

Makiah, the 2024 Stars and Stripes European girls track and field Athlete of the Year, made a name for herself in the shorter distances throughout her four years at Wiesbaden High School. She went 4 for 4 in the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter dashes at the DODEA European championships coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, including four crowns at the 2024 meet on May 23-24 at Kaiserslautern High School.

The moment her father realized Makiah was a sprinter was the 2020 AAU Junior Olympic Games Track and Field Championships at Satellite Beach High School in Satellite Beach, Fla. Makiah ran a 58.22-second 400 in the preliminaries for the sixth-best time before taking seventh with a 59.64.

Considering her focus on the middle distances of 800 and 1,500 meters, the success in the sprinting event was somewhat surprising.

“I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, where did this come from?’” Michael Parker said of the 58-second quarter-mile. “I was like, ‘She’s definitely a sprinter.’”

The Junior Olympic experiences sparked Makiah’s love for the sport of track and field.

The Wiesbaden senior first qualified at the age of 11 for the 2016 meet at Turner Stadium in Humble, Texas. Parker took 59th in the girls 11-year-old 800 as a member of the North Texas Jackrabbits.

She was hooked after that.

“Not everything is given to you, but when you finally get there to that pinnacle, it’s a great feeling,” she said. “That’s what made me keep coming back.

“When I made it to my first Junior Olympics, I was like, ‘Man, I like this atmosphere. I like being around the crowd.’ … It was a lot to take in, but I definitely wanted to keep coming back.”

With all her success back in the States at the Junior Olympics and the New Balance Outdoor Nationals, it’s her success on this side of the pond that has people talking.

Makiah Parker, a senior at Wiesbaden High School, crosses the finish line with a commanding lead to win the girls 400-meter varsity dash at the 2024 DODEA European Championships at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 24, 2024. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Starting with the virtual championship meet in 2021, Makiah took the DODEA European scene by storm, sweeping the sprinting events during her entire high school career. Nobody could keep up with her fleet feet on the track.

It really showed during her senior year. Under the tutelage of Michael, who took over as the Wiesbaden sprinting coach this spring, Makiah broke two DODEA records starting with an 11.71-second 100 on May 11 in Frankfurt.

The piece de resistance came in the 400 at the European meet. Makiah blitzed to the championship meet and overall record with a 55.96, smashing the previous record of 57.28 by former Kaiserslautern athlete Jada Branch in 2018.

To highlight her dominance, runner-up Rickalia Goss of Sigonella, who took second in all three sprinting events last month, nearly hit Branch’s record as well with a 57.60.

“I’m glad that I can leave Wiesbaden High School with my name being talked about for a long time,” Makiah said. “When the next girl comes around and she beats my record, I want her to feel the same way I did when I broke that record.”

Motivating others is something her father and coach noticed. And it paid dividends for the Warriors this season.

The 4x400 relay consisted of junior Natalia Bergdorf, sophomore Samia Calloway and seniors Aisha Sangau and Parker. The quartet handily won the European title in 4:06.72, nearly 10 seconds ahead of runner-up Kaiserslautern.

It proved the Warriors were more than Parker, and Michael pointed out Makiah’s leadership as a big reason why.

“She elevated a lot of underclassmen’s level of competition and making them really go after it,” he said. “They ran their butts off so by the time (Makiah) got the baton, they were tied up. Nobody really saw us coming, so she definitely brings a whole level.”

Now, Makiah turns her attention to the collegiate level, her goal for eight years.

She will run at Cal State Bakersfield, a NCAA Division I program that competes in the Big West Conference. She plans to study business management while working on a brand of athletic wear.

Makiah has set her goal to make all-conference during her time as a Roadrunner as she continues to compete in the sport she loves.

“It’s peaceful to me. Being out here is relaxing,” Makiah said while on the Wiesbaden track. “Overall, it’s a really big part of who I am, and I was able to accomplish and get through so many doors by running in a circle.”