Twirler lives ‘Golden’ life, brings home medals
Add one gold medal and two bronze medals to Hawkeye Golden Girl Chelsea Russell’s ever-growing collection.
The UI sophomore is back from Belgium, where she took three top spots at the World Baton Championship earlier this month. She has represented the United States at the international competition four times, earning seven gold, two silver, and five bronze medals.
“I had to miss a ton of school for Worlds,” Russell said. “I’m still catching up on work, but luckily my teachers were really cool about it. It’s extremely difficult to balance twirling and school because it is so time-consuming.”
But she is used to the hectic schedule — she’s been doing it since kindergarten.
Some could say Russell, who has been involved in competitive twirling since she was 3, was born with the talent. Her mother, Kelli Krull Russell, is a former national twirling champion. She also won the Miss America talent competition for twirling as Miss New York, and she has coached numerous national and world champions — including her daughter.
“Chelsea is extremely hardworking and determined,” Kelli Krull Russell said. “When she first started she was pigeon-toed and uncoordinated, and it was just a lot of work from the beginning. She just kept steadily improving and won her first medal when she was 8.”
Since that first medal, she’s ventured to France, England, Netherlands, Japan, and Peru.
She’s also traveled from her hometown, Williamsville, N.Y., to Iowa City to become the Hawkeyes’ feature twirler.
“The UI is the only school in the country that offers a full-tuition scholarship for being the feature twirler with the Marching Band,” Chelsea Russell said, and she plans to twirl at Iowa for four to five years. “It’s regarded as the best spot for twirlers.”
On top of practicing every day, she said, she also teaches baton four nights a week.
“My sense of responsibility and determination are both heightened because of everything that I do,” the 19-year-old said.
Russell said she considers her obsessive-compulsive disorder an advantage — she was diagnosed with the disorder in seventh grade.
“I’m kind of an ultra-perfectionist,” she said, and she cannot perform without her “trademark” blue towel that she’s had for eight years. “Since I have OCD, it’s never really about how long I practice but about the quality of it.”
During football season, Russell’s schedule becomes even more hectic. She practices with the Hawkeye Marching Band four times a week and performs with it at home games, one away game, and bowl games.
Kevin Kastens, the Marching Band director, said his two years working with her have been terrific.
“Since I’ve been here, I’ve had three Golden Girls,” he said. “[Russell] is really outgoing, and she made it a point to know the people in the Marching Band. She has a very bubbly personality, which comes out in her performing.”
Kastens said Russell is always willing to sign autographs on game days, something he said fans appreciate. Russell added she sometimes feels like a celebrity. This sense of appreciation from fans is part of what made Russell choose the UI, she said.
“When I saw the Hawkeyes’ passion, that was what drew me in,” she said. “They make my experience so much better.”
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