Bella Whittaker stood in front of the mirror in her USA-branded uniform at 6 a.m., finishing her hair and makeup before heading to compete in a track relay at the Paris Olympic Games last summer. Juliette Whittaker, Bella's younger sister, sat in the bathroom with her, chatting as she prepared for the race. Both Bella and Juliette, nicknamed the "Whittasisters," were in Paris to compete at the Olympics.
Bella's phone rang, and Juliette's eyes grew wide as Bella began to sob. Bella had been pulled from the relay.
They still needed her to show up as an alternate, and Bella didn't have much time to compose herself before she had to get on the bus. Juliette didn't think twice as she threw on a different pair of clothes and got on the bus with her sister.
"We just sat there watching the chosen members of the squad," Bella recalled. "I was heartbroken. I will always remember having her there in that moment. I don't know if I would have been able to do it without her there."
As the sisters sat on the sidelines together watching the team warm up, they talked. Eventually, Bella began smiling, and by the end of the meet, they were making each other laugh.
"That's exactly what being in Paris meant to me," Bella added. "Just having (Juliette) there at all times, always on my side, was extremely comforting. I feel very lucky to experience that."
For Juliette, the feeling was mutual, especially because they roomed together in the Village.
"Walking around the Olympic Village with all of these insane names and having severe imposter syndrome and not feeling like I belong, (having Bella there) made the experience like 100 times better," Juliette said.
Imagining going to the Olympicswithoutyour sister by your side?
"Could not be me," Bella said. "I don't know how people do it."
Long before their days at the Olympics, the Whittasisters were a team, experiencing the journey of elite competition together.
They were born to be track athletes. At Georgetown, their mother, Jill, was a 400-meter hurdler, and their father, Paul, ran the 800 meters. The Whittaker family also consists of brothers Nicholas, the oldest sibling, and Alex, who ran track at Yale.
Juliette said that everyone asks about the sisters' relationship growing up. She tells them, "??We are competitive in the sense that when one of us competes, we wanna do just as well (as the other)." While Bella is a sprinter, Juliette is a middle-distance runner, so they never directly compete against each other in events.
"Seeing Bella (at the Olympic trials) and watching her and cheering for her fired me up so much," Juliette said. "We've gotten to be competitive by pushing each other and pushing the limits of what we can do because we're seeing what the other person is doing."
When it came time for college, Bella chose the University of Pennsylvania. Two years later, Juliette chose Stanford. Now, Bella competes at Arkansas as a graduate student. Both sisters credit their NCAA track experiences as a stepping stone for the Olympics.
"The NCAA is terrifying right now in that it's so fast. Even just at the Olympic trials, I was like, 'Wow, this does not feel as stressful as the NCAAs,'" Juliette said. "I feel like the NCAA, all of the meets but especially nationals, definitely prepared me a lot."
Fortunately, many of those terrifyingly fast times have been set by the Whittasisters.
Bella broke the NCAA record in the 400 meters at this year's Division I indoor championships with a time of 49.24 seconds and was named the2025 NCAA Division I Women's Indoor National Track Athlete of the Year. At Penn, she was anAll-Ivy League and All-America honoree.Juliette is a three-time NCAA champion, including two wins in the 800 meters, and an eight-time All-American, only a few of her manyaccolades.In addition, both sisters made College Sports Communicators Academic All-America teams last year.
Even with all of their success, Bella and Juliette admit their confidence wavers from time to time. In those moments, they look toward each other.
"It's like a mirror. In my head, I'm like, 'Girl, you're good. Don't stress.' But she's thinking the same thing about me," Bella said. "I think of Juliette so highly. Every time she steps out on the line, she's going to give it her all, which I think is really admirable. (I've learned) how that can be manifested in my life and in my races as well," she added.
Watching each other navigate their student-athlete experience has impacted their own experience. For Juliette, seeing her older sister thrive as a student-athlete showed her the possibilities on campus.
"One thing I've really admired about Bella's time as a student-athlete, and one I wish I emulated a little more, was how involved she was in so many things," Juliette said. "She really embodied what it means to be a true student-athlete and leader."
In fact, Bella was recognized as a 2024 NCAAWoman of the Yearfinalist for her exceptionalism as an athlete, student and member of the community.
"She's put a lot of effort into different aspects of her life," Juliette added. "It's impacted her by showing other people what's possible and inspiring others to see that you can be more than just a runner."
As Bella has watched her younger sister navigate college, she admires how Juliette has formed rich friendships.
"Learning from the relationships that Juliette has crafted and how she diligently works toward those friendships (has shown me) what it means to be there for the people around you," Bella said. "Juliette embodies the idea that it takes a whole village. I see how important those relationships are that she's taken the time to craft, and I think that Juliette does it very beautifully."
College track and their Olympic experience have only made the Whittasisters closer. There is no one Bella and Juliette would rather be with than each other.
"I love sisterhood. One of the most beautiful relationships that anyone can enter into is one with their sister. I take it so seriously," Bella said. "It's unlike anything."