The 29-year-old Hawaii native has spent the past six years dividing time between her dual careers as a systems engineer and an elite athlete. She competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games where she placed seventh in the K-2W sprint race with her partner, Tamara Jenkins. She now teams with Ruth Nortje, and the two make a mean pair. At the Pan American Games held last month, Colin and Nortje took the gold medal in the K-2 500 meter, Colin’s favorite race.

“The K-2 500 is by far my strongest race. Like all athletes, I love to win and in that event, we’ve had our best showing. It is definitely my favorite race to compete in.”

A natural athlete, Colin has been involved in organized sports since the tender age of three. She started her athletic endeavors as a gymnast, but after struggling with a torn ACL when she was 13, she eventually made the switch to kayaking. By the time she was 17, she had captured a U.S. National title and began her voyage up the rankings.

She now lives in San Diego, Calif. and trains at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. She meets her K-2 partner, Nortje, who resides in Whitehouse Station, N.J., every other month for about three weeks so they can train together. And like in many other sports, when the teammates are not partners on the K-2 boat, they often find themselves competing against each other in individual events.

“We do get competitive with each other,” Colin admits. “Whenever you get two athletes together it is natural for the competitive side to come out, but I think we push each other and have learned to respect each other. I know that I have learned a lot from Ruth and hopefully she has learned something from me, too. Most importantly, we both know that the other will always be giving her all.”

Colin faces a daunting schedule each day, especially considering she maintains her role as a data communication employee for Northrop Grumman, a global defense enterprise. Finding balance between her training regime and career is a challenge, but not one that she hesitates to embrace.

“It is hard, working out as much as I do in addition to having a career, but I think it provides a good distraction from both angles. I realize that there is a life after sport, and that when I can no longer kayak, I have a career that is stable.”

She’s grounded enough to know how great an opportunity she has.

“The biggest lesson I have learned over the years I’ve been training is that you need to have fun with what you’re doing and do it for the love of it. I can remember a moment when I was out in the water and it just hit me, how lucky I am to be able to spend all this time doing what I love. I know there are a lot of people who would give anything to have an opportunity such as this, and I try not to forget that.”

The importance of this Sprint World Championship event is clear. It takes a top-six finish to qualify for Athens and Colin is confident that she and Nortje will deliver.

“We’ve had some great practices together and are ready to go. If for some reason we don’t get in the top six, we do have a second chance event next April, but my ultimate focus is on the K-2 and getting to Athens now.”