(audience cheering)
(camera shutter)
(bell ringing)
- [Kaylah] My story is being an underdog.
(music starts)
Having the chance to prove the odds wrong
is always a great feeling for me.
My parents were in the Marine Corps,
my mom for 22 years and my dad served for 12 years.
Soon after 9/11,
my dad was stationed in San Diego, California.
(music intensifies)
He was driving
(dramatic music)
and
(dramatic music)
someone cut him off.
His vehicle flipped, his neck snapped,
the car was completely crushed, totaled.
It's honestly a miracle that he survived.
(inspirational music)
Being in a wheelchair couldn't stop him.
All these positions and offices and boards
that he's been able to sit on,
if anything, it was a catalyst.
- 'Cause there's one secret, there's one secret.
You'll never be fast enough 'cause there's a secret
that I have that you don't know.
- Oh, you gotta be ready.
- All right.
Put your hand back up.
(somber music)
- [Kaylah] Growing up,
seeing my mom putting on her bootstrap,
I just remember being so proud every time she came
and picked me up from school,
and she would be in her uniform,
and I'd be like, "That's my mom."
I wanted to be just like her,
she looked so powerful
and she had a commanding presence in her uniform.
(zipper zipping)
And it was everything that I wanted for myself.
(light switch)
(Sailors chanting)
(intense music)
(Sailors continue chanting)
- I chose to go to the Naval Academy
because I wanted to be in the military,
and the prestige of the Academy was attractive to me.
The academics are rigorous,
you're being trained in everything
from the politics of China and Japan
to electrical engineering, physics, chemistry.
This isn't your average college,
we're getting prepared to go to sea
for the world's most powerful Navy.
It's my turn to stand the watch now,
passing the torch from one generation in the military
to the other.
I'll be happy to join that community with honor.
My love for boxing came from watching boxing with my dad.
I think it was me trying to bond with him.
I knew I loved it.
- [Boxing Instructor] Jab and duck,
jab, duck straight down.
- [Kaylah] This month we have
our brigade championship coming up,
to see who the best boxers are.
- [Boxing Instructor] Finish with the two.
Fast, fast, fast.
(music intensifies)
(audience indistinctly chattering)
(audience cheering)
- Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!
- [Kaylah's Mom] Yes!
Yes, Kaylah!
(bell ringing)
(audience applauding)
- [Announcer] Going to the finals tomorrow evening,
from the red corner, it's Kaylah Gillums!
(audience cheering)
- [Kaylah] Going into a fight,
(music starts)
every situation is different,
so you have to adjust for their style
to still get the job done.
That's what my dad does.
And that's what I try to do in the boxing ring.
(soft music)
- [Kaylah's Dad] Hey!
Well, look at you.
- Hi.
- How do you feel?
- Fired up.
- It took me a whole lot longer
to get to the point where you are now.
You off to a good start.
You off to a very good start,
and I'm extremely proud of you.
That every hardship I've ever endured,
if it meant for you to get to this point and have a shot,
I will go back in time and endure it ten times over.
Everything happens for a reason.
(dramatic music)
And I don't have a bad day in my life
when I think about what it meant to get you to this point.
That's what the pride really means to me.
(upbeat music)
- [Kaylah] I'll be fighting the team captain.
She's a senior and it's gonna be a really good fight.
I'm gonna put my best foot forward, for sure.
(music intensifies)
- [Announcer] 125 pound weight class,
in the women's category,
from the class of '24, 20th company, Kaylah Gillums!
(audience cheering)
(camera shutter clicks)
(ominous music)
(audience cheering)
(music intensifies)
(audience cheers)
(bell ringing)
(audience cheering)
- [Boxing Instructor] To your left, Kaylah!
Keep moving to your left!
(audience cheering)
(bell ringing)
(audience applauding)
- [Boxing Instructor] You want this out?
Big, deep breaths, okay?
I need you to get light on your feet.
- Okay.
- [Boxing Instructor] I need you to get light on your feet,
okay?
You look like you started to get gassed
at the end of that round.
You are not gassed, okay?
We got two more rounds.
Don't show the judges that, all right?
Don't worry about the jab too much.
And keep moving your head.
(music begins)
- A secret that I have that you don't know.
You know what the secret is?
(somber music)
There's a direct line
from the shoulder, straight through.
(music intensifies)
I'm thinking about my fist being connected to here,
not to here.
And they won't see it coming.
By the time you pull it back,
they've already been hit,
And you’re setting up the next shot.
(bell ringing)
(intense music)
(audience cheering)
- [Boxing Instructor] Hands back up!
Hands back up!
Go, go!
Nice!
There you go!
Go ahead bring in the uppercut when she puts her head down.
Bounce on those feet,
bounce on those feet!
(music intensifies)
(audience cheers)
(bell ringing)
(audience applauding)
- [Boxing Instructor] Nice job.
Way to finish,
that was awesome.
That was awesome.
It was a close fight, alright.
But it's within our reach.
Thank you.
- [Announcer] Here we go,
in our first round 125 pound weight class
in the women's category, (crowd cheering)
a split decision winner,
from the blue corner, it’s Kaylah Gillums!
(audience cheering)
- [Boxing Instructor] Let's go, yes!
(audience applauding)
(intense music)
- [Kaylah] I didn't see that,
I would be a Midshipman one day,
or that this would be possible for me.
We have a lot of demands daily.
If everyone does their job and takes care of each other
how we're trained to do,
a genuine connection forms.
It really does bond you as a family.
So I feel proud to serve.
The Navy has provided me a great opportunity
of doing things I never could have done
if I didn't go here.
(music intensifies)
So it's already been a great adventure
and it's only gonna get better from here.
My name is Kaylah Gillums
and I'm a Midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy.
(loud bang)
(music resolves)