Some of the best news since I made the Olympic Games last year is a huge opportunity that I just received to throw in Beijing, China! It’s a big meet with some great competitors and an opportunity to gain experience.

Sadly I will be missing one of my favorite US meets in Arizona the Tucson Elite Throws Classic. It is one of my favorites because of the great atmosphere, the perfect weather, the night air, and I always seem to surprise myself early in the season in Arizona. Beijing happens to land on the same weekend as Tucson, so I will not be able to make both meets.

I am heading to the PDX airport now to hop on a plane for 12 hours to Beijing; spend 1 day adjusting to the 15 hour time difference, compete, and fly back 12 hours the next day. It’s a quick trip but that’s kind of hour track and field is. It’s a business trip, not a vacation getaway.

So far I haven’t heard much about the meet; there hasn’t been a start list, live video stream, or what time of day I am throwing, so I can only assume so much. There has only been one press release that mentioned the javelin, the 2011 World Champion Matthias de Zordo of Germany will be competing (opening mark of 81.49m – 267-4), Petr Fredrych of the Czech Republic (opening mark of 77.82m – 255-4), and Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic as well.

This meet is a huge opportunity to throw far, but I will say there are much more important meets coming up that we are trying to peak for. There have only been 8 people in the world that have thrown the World Championships A Standard (83.50m). If I want to extend my season this year and qualify for the World Championships in Moscow I need to hit this mark or with the USA Championships to guarantee my spot on Team USA.

This meet will be held in the 2008 Olympic Stadium “The Birds Nest.” It has a max capacity of 80,000 people but I think we will only get to see approximately 10,000-30,000 at the meet. In large stadiums like this wind is not a factor, which means it will not aid (tailwind) nor hinder (strong headwinds) the flight of the javelin.

After this competition in Beijing we are preparing for a big meet in Chicago; where conditions last year were perfect for two Americans to hit the A Standard for the Olympics. Then USA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. After USA Championships we will start training for meets outside the US. There is a Canadian series of competitions in July, multiple opportunities in Europe (pending my funding for the year), and of course the World Championships in Moscow are in early August.

Overall, even after a few early minor injuries I am on course for a big year. It has been 4 years since my personal best (83.16m) at the Pepsi Invitational in 2009. I have been really focused and I am ready for bigger marks and bigger meets.

 

Glory to God, Stay Healthy, Throw Far. #TrainBIG #Moscow2013