EUGENE, Ore. (June 27, 2021) - Former Northern Arizona athlete Brooke Andersen earned a spot on Team USA for the first time in her professional career this weekend at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.
The Big Sky Conference record holder stepped into the ring on June 24 to compete in the women's hammer throw preliminary round. Andersen tossed a humble mark of 72.16 meters to advance to Saturday's finals, with the top three qualifying for Tokyo.
Showcasing her status as one of the best in the United States, as well as the world, Andersen earned a silver medal with a throw of 77.72 meters and punched her ticket to Tokyo as a member of the United States of America Olympic team.
Andersen's first throw of the day would have qualified her for a place on the team, hitting 74.38 meters before topping it with her best distance of the day on her second throw.
Meanwhile, NAU freshman
Nico Young also prepared to run in the preliminary round of the men's 5000-meter race this past Thursday.
Having run an Olympic Trials standard time earlier in his first collegiate season, it was no surprise to see Young advance to event finals with a second-place finish between the two heats and a time of 13:36.74.
In an outstanding final race, Young proudly finished ninth overall on Sunday with a time of 13:35.94 to seal his first Lumberjack track season.
Back on June 18, the opening day of U.S Trials, a trio of current and former Lumberjacks also lined up for the 10000-meter race.
NAU alum Diego Estrada led the group with a 13th-place finish, running a 28:10.78 and holding a spot in the middle of the pack for the final 5,000 meters of the race.
Freshman
Abdihamid Nur, on the other hand, running his second 10K in 10 days, opened up the race inside the top 10 through 1,000 meters. However Nur began to slide back a bit as the race wore on, ultimately dropping out after hitting the 6K mark of the race.
Similarly, two-time Olympian and Northern Arizona alum Lopez Lomong was forced from the race after 4,000 meters of the 10K. Grabbing his right leg while running along with the leaders, Lomong pulled up and was forced out of the 5,000-meter set a week later as well.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics begin July 23 with Opening Ceremonies at Japan National Stadium, which will also be the site of track and field competition beginning on July 30. Women's hammer throw opens on Aug. 1 with the preliminary round before finals are held on Aug. 4.
