DURHAM, N.C. – Recently, GoDuke.com sat down with senior Curtis Beach to learn more about the Albuquerque, N.M., native.
GoDuke.com: Name your three favorite things about being a student-athlete at Duke:
Curtis Beach: My favorite thing is definitely the people I meet and get to know. It’s been a lot of fun just having the support of the team, being mentored by my coach, and all my professors.
GoDuke.com: What is your favorite ‘in competition’ memory?
CB: My favorite in competition memory would have to be the 2012 indoor nationals. I had a “come
from behind” victory and won the national championship. I needed to break the pentathlon 1000m world record in order to win the title and I did. It was just such an unbelievable experience because I had to come from behind. I had my family and my coaches there, and it was my coach’s first national champion. It was just so much fun because it was something I wanted to do for a long time before I even wanted to come here.
GoDuke.com: What is your favorite ‘out of competition’ memory?
CB: That’s a hard one but I would say outside of competition and outside of athletics being a part of the focus program was really cool. My professor was Michael Gillespie and we had a really close group of students. We got to go on a trip to Puerto Rico and a trip to University of Virginia to really learn about the philosophy of politics. Having such a close group together away from the track was a really fun experience.
GoDuke.com: Can you describe your coach (Shawn) in three words?
CB: Okay, Coach Wilbourn in three words. Passionate, hardworking and motivated more
