Never give up. Always persevere. Those have been my mottos to my career throwing the javelin. Saturday I threw a new personal best of 83.83m (275 feet). I have been training for over seven years to break my old personal best and I have finally done it! Tucson Elite Classic is one of the best meets in the U.S. for throwers. The competition doesn’t have prize money but it has consistent good/warm weather and all the best throwers in the ...continue reading

I just had my season opener and it went pretty much how I thought it would go. I haven’t been able to throw from full approach yet in practice, but I still wanted to throw at Long Beach. I needed a meet to knock the rust off and clear my emotions before I threw at bigger meets. I don’t care how good you are; you will always have a nervousness that overwhelms you your first competition of the year. Practices have been going great, ...continue reading

The last six weeks of training has been nothing short of amazing. My confidence levels have risen tenfold and I am finally excited for upcoming competitions. This sudden shift in my season is not just by coincidence or luck, but because I made a mental shift in how I have been going about my day. I got to the training center in October of 2014. I joined my Olympic javelin teammates Sean Furey and Craig Kinsley in hopes that together we ...continue reading

So it’s that time of the year where everyone starts asking, “Are you going to the Olympics?” I awkwardly have to tell them; I don’t know, but I hope so. The second the words, “hope so” exit my mouth I can tell they think that I am a long shot to make the team and this is just a hobby of mine. I can assure you that’s not true, but it’s just more complex than that. And I am going to break it down.   The ...continue reading

American men’s throwing has struggled to win medals at the World Championship and Olympic stage. The throws aren’t usually on television, and there is minimal to no money in the sport, and most people couldn’t describe a “hammer.” Go figure we struggle in the throws. You can nearly go anywhere and find a “track” club or a group of runners that train and feed off each other; yet the throwers are a secretive bunch that is ...continue reading

I just finished up my first four weeks of training for the Olympic year and I have goosebumps! It’s starting off freaking awesome! I am throwing more than I have ever thrown this time of the year AND farther too! I couldn’t be more excited for the upcoming outdoor season. I got released from the Olympic Training Center in October, but I continue to use the facilities and I am now living off-site nearby. Prices for food, rent, gas ...continue reading

In every athlete’s career, we face obstacles that try to slow us down. Sometimes the obstacles we face are so big that we feel it might be best to quit and pursue the “regular life.” I have overcome so many obstacles in my athletic career, and every year I question continuing my sport. Now I face my newest hurdle and wonder if this will be the one that ends it all. After one year at the Olympic Training Center I have been ...continue reading

If you haven’t been paying attention, you may have not noticed that men’s javelin is on FIRE this year. This year it was hands down the best event in track and field. I may be biased as a javelin thrower, but the results speak for itself. While I personally did not have the greatest season due to some shoulder injuries it didn’t stop our Americans from stepping their game up. We had four Americans throw over 80m. Two of them threw ...continue reading

Summer is that grey area of the year where I feel like no one has any idea what to do. Hopefully for elite athletes you are competing at World Championships or abroad in Europe. Others may opt for rest. On various summers I have been the most motivated after some of my worst track seasons. I moved to the Olympic Training Center in California last fall to compete with some of the top athletes in the world. And even the best athletes have ...continue reading

For some of us our competitive season has come to an end. Mine ended earlier than I had hoped. I wish I could have been able to compete at the World Championships, but it hasn’t stopped me from training, and there is good reason why I don’t think you should stop either. The usual format in America, is to compete at the college meets from March to May and peak for the USA Championships at the end of June. For the 87% of athletes that ...continue reading