Fund drive seeks to send parents of Morristown Olympian to Rio

By Kevin Coughlin

When Christina Epps (Morristown High ’09) competes in the Olympic triple jump in Brazil on Aug. 13, 2016, her mom and stepdad plan to be there.

How they will pay for it, they’re not sure.

Penny Lopez, a family friend, hopes she has the answer.

Her GoFundMe online campaign has raised more than $1,000 of its $12,000 goal in just two days.

“It would really help us a whole lot,” Beverly Epps-Blackwell said on Thursday. “I’m just believing in God, it’s going to happen.”

Epps-Blackwell and her husband, Kevin Blackwell, both are retired–she was a nurse’s assistant for a religious order, he managed a parking garage– and they have health problems, Epps-Blackwell said.

A mother of seven who cares for five grandchildren, she is bursting with pride for Christina’s achievement.

The young woman made the jump of her life this month to qualify for the Olympic team, rebounding from an injury that dashed her dream in 2012.

“She comes from a hard life. We had a hard struggle. Can anybody good come out of this area, Flagler Street? They used to call it the Hollow, the Projects.

“Christina used to ask, ‘Mom, why do you have to live here?’ Now she’s an example of someone who has come out of this struggle,” said Epps-Blackwell, who is active in Morristown’s Church of God in Christ, where her husband is an elder.

“It’s a blessing to see a child so determined to change her life. She’s an example: You don’t have to get in trouble. You can turn your life around,” Epps-Blackwell said.

Her small Flagler Street apartment is lined with testaments to Christina’s athletic success:  Trophies from Coppin State University, photos of Christina playing basketball at Morristown High, even a pair of giant wings, acknowledging her soaring career in the triple jump.

Christina took to sports at an early age.

“It really kept her balanced. It gave her a sense of pride. These young people need a sense of pride,” said her mom, an accomplished volleyball player in her day. Back problems now limit Epps-Blackwell’s physical exertions to singing.

Penny Lopez knows the Blackwells through church, and has grown close to Beverly over the last year, during her own battle with breast cancer.

“She prayed for me, counseled me through. She was with me for my diagnosis, and for my biopsy. She was a strength and a rock for me,” said Lopez. “Whether she’s known you one year or 100 years, it doesn’t matter. She’s that good a friend.”

(Full disclosure: Penny Lopez is a photography contributor to MorristownGreen.com.)

Christina, 25, has been through a lot, too, according to Epps-Blackwell, which is one reason the mom wants to be in Rio.

Over the last couple of years, Christina lost her father and grandmother. Her uncle, an accountant at Marsh & McLennan, worked on the 98th floor of the World Trade Center. His death on 9/11 “devastated” Christina as a child, Epps-Blackwell said.

The Olympics are like a ray of sunshine.

“We are so happy right now. We had so much sorrow. This has brought so much joy to this family,” Epps-Blackwell said. “This is a miracle to me. All year [Christina] struggled to hit that mark… and she hit it! It’s an absolute miracle.”

There’s plenty of joy to go around.

“This is a proud moment for Morristown,” Lopez said.