NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — When you’ve already reached the mountain top, where else is there left to climb? It's a question Sika Henry asks herself every day.
"Gains are far and few between, it wears on you," said Henry.
Three years ago, Henry stood atop the sports world after taking it by storm, becoming the first African American female professional triathlete in the entire country. Soon after local media coverage shared her story, national outlets ESPN and the New York Times Sports section picked up her story.
“My social media following increased, I did this original story with news locally, had the New York Times reach out and ESPN did too. I was on a huge high when I got my professional card because I had been working toward it for so long," Henry said.
“I would say my life completely changed," she added.
Each step over the starting line became another reminder of the barrier she broke and the flurry of attention that followed.
“My story got pretty big, people knew who I was and at races, a lot of people come up to me and I felt this responsibility of performing. Before people were like ‘Good luck’, but now it’s like ‘How good is she? How well will she do?'"
Sika, who once stood on top of the sports world, would find herself once again looking up.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect in my first professional race, and unfortunately it was a disaster," Henry laughed.
"When you’re a pro, you usually go back to the bottom and I was getting my butt kicked in pro-races honestly, and that was hard.”
For nearly three years, Sika competed alongside full-time professional triathletes while maintaining a full-time job as well. Shortly after her story went viral, she often asked herself: what's next?
"I think a lot of athletes struggle with that you compare yourself to the next fastest person… you question how much it’s all worth it."
This July, Henry announced she had officially retired from professional triathlon, about three years after she broke the sport's color barrier.
"I felt burnt out," she told 13News Now.
“I accomplished my goal, the things I was really passionate about talking about getting more people of color in the sport. Seeing more than one black woman on the pro-start line, I wanted to put the attention on that," she said.
Sika sat down again with 13News Now, pushing to remind people to prioritize what makes us happy and to not let life's external expectations stand in the way of that.
Now that there is a second professional black female triathlete, Colorado-based Vanessa Foerster, Henry feels she’s left the sport better than when she entered.
“What more I wanted from the sport ultimately was to give back, to try and bring more people of color to the sport.”
Henry is a member of the National Black Marathoners’ Association (NBMA) Annual Summit, who helped coordinate their upcoming partnership with the city's One City Marathon.
“This year’s event is especially exciting with our collaboration with the National Black Marathoners’ Association, which adds a dynamic and inclusive element to the festivities," Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones released in a statement.