The Heartbreaking And Uplifting Story Of Quinitta Underwood

This story is horrific in its detail and inspiring in its potential. The New York Times had one of the top amateur Olympic hopefuls, Quinitta ‘Queen' Underwood tell her sordid tale of growing up. The tale of a father who put out such a good image that he was featured in the ‘Family Portrait' column in The Seattle Times. However, he had a secret. He beat his young daughters frequently and started to rape them on a regular basis as well. The mental and physical abuse this man put both Quinitta and her older sister through is absolutely staggering. Please read the full article no matter how painful and heart wrenching the story gets (Warning: It's painful).

After the girls told their mother about what was going on, her father was arrested and was given a sentence of only 7 years. Quinitta was a great athlete in high school and wanted to enlist in the Air Force. However, she fell in with the wrong crowd and started to value drugs and alcohol over all other pursuits. She was saved from this terrible life by one thing, boxing. She wasn't very good at it in the beginning; in fact she had a terrible showing in the 2006 nationals. This initial failure only motivated Quinitta to dedicate herself further to the sport. Now she is one of the favorites to make the US Olympic Team in London 2012. Quinitta is an inspiration to anyone who has been abused in his or her life. More on the Queen's journey through the Olympic Trials will follow later on tonight.