Olympics Schedule and Results
Paralympics Schedule and Results
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (July 26, 2024) – Six current and former Northern Arizona University student-athletes will soon have their Olympic dreams realized as they are set to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics.
Geordie Beamish, Luis Grijalva, Adam Keenan,
Keegan Knott, Abdihamid Nur and
Nico Young will be representing four different countries with the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics getting underway today with the Opening Ceremonies.
Fans call help support all six Olympians and future Olympians by making a donation to the Skyjacks Champions Fund. A donation of $100 or more between July 26 and Aug. 30 will automatically enter you to win a signed wood cookie by Young. For more details, click
HERE.
The Lumberjacks are represented by Knott who is a current NAU swimmer. Knott will compete in the women's 400m freestyle in the S9 classification at the Paralympics on Thursday, Aug. 29. The Illinois native will be returning as a Paralympian for Team USA after previously competing in her first-ever games in Tokyo as the youngest on the 2021 roster. Knott will be chasing her first Paralympic podium finish in Paris. During the trials in June, Knott placed second in the 400 free S9 classification with a finals time of 4:55.34, improving by five seconds faster than her prelims finish.
Five former NAU cross country and track and field student-athletes will also be competing for four different countries. The action all begins on Friday, Aug. 2 with Keenan competing in the first round of the hammer throw for Team Canada. The finals of the hammer throw are set for Sunday, Aug. 4. First day competition wraps up that evening when Young toes the line in the 10,000-meter finals at 12:20 p.m. Mountain Standard time.
Beamish will represent Team New Zealand on Monday, Aug. 5 in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase with the finals scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 7. Also competing on Aug. 7 is Nur and Grijalva in the first round of the men's 5,000-meters. Nur is competing for Team USA while Grijalva will don a uniform for Team Guatemala. The finals are set for Saturday, Aug. 10.
Keenan was a thrower at NAU during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. While at NAU, the Victoria, British Columbia, native won two indoor titles in the weight throw. Outdoors in the hammer throw, he won the 2016 title and broke the Big Sky Conference's hammer record with a toss of 70.14 meters. In 2017, he earned second-team All-American honors with an 11
th place finish at the national championships. Professionally, he is a five-time national champion in the hammer throw and has earned bronze medals at the NACAC U23 Championship, NACAC Championships and Pan America U20 Championships.
Young finished third in the 10,000-meters at the Olympic trials in June with a time of 27:52.40. It marked just the second career 10k for Young, who set the collegiate record of 26:52.72 back on March 16, 2024 to qualify for the Olympic trials. Young had a historic year, beginning with an outstanding cross country season where he won the Big Sky's individual title for the second-straight season before going on to place second at the NCAA Mountain Regional. At the NCAA National Championships, he placed sixth to help the men secure a second-place finish.
The Camarillo, Calif., native took things to a new level during the indoor track season, beginning with a first-place finish in the 3,000-meter in his first race of the season with the fourth-fastest time in NCAA history. In his first home meet of the season, Young ran the first sub-four-minute mile ever at 7,000 feet. Two weeks later, he competed at the John Thomas Terrier Classic, running a collegiate 5,000-meter record and becoming the first collegiate athlete to run a sub-13 minute 5k. Young was a member of the Distance Medley Relay team which ran the third fastest time in collegiate history and he later won the mile at the Big Sky Championships and placed third in the 800-meter. Young competed in the 3K and the 5K at the NCAA National Championships, taking the individual title in both to become a two-time national champion. His 3K time was also a meet record.
Outdoors, Young ran an NAU, Big Sky, and NCAA record time of 26:52.72 in the 10,00-meter at The TEN meet. A first-team All-American outdoors, Young also won the Big Sky's 5,000-meter title while finishing second in the 1,500-meters and third in the 800-meters. He competes professionally for adidas.
Nur, a 2022 Northern Arizona graduate, qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Team after finishing second in the men's 5,000-meters with a time of 13:09.01. Nur is the collegiate record holder outdoors in the 10,000 (13:06.32) and he won indoor NCAA titles in the 3,000-meters and 5,000-meters in 2022. Nur runs professionally for Nike and has won two national titles, representing the U.S. at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships.
Beamish was a two-time All-American in cross country at Northern Arizona in 2017 and 2018, helping the Lumberjacks claim the Division I National Championship in cross country both of those seasons plus another in 2016. Indoors, Beamish won the mile at the 2019 Division I Championships, also claiming two Big Sky titles that year. Beamish is the current Oceanian Record holder in the 5,000-meters and the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Grijalva was a member of the 2017 and 2018 NAU men's cross country National Championships and was also a 2018 cross country All-American. Indoors in 2020, Grijalva won two Big Sky titles in the mile and the Distance Medley Relay. Twice he has finished in the top eight at the World Championships.
NAU Athletics 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics Games Schedule
Friday, August 2:
- Men's Hammer First Round: Adam Keenan
- Men's 10k Finals: Nico Young
Sunday, August 4:
- Men's Hammer Finals: Adam Keenan
Monday, August 5:
- Men's 3k Steeplechase First Round: Geordie Beamish
Wednesday, August 7:
- Men's 5k First Round: Abdihamid Nur, Luis Grijalva
- Men's 3k Steeplechase Finals: Geordie Beamish
Saturday, August 10:
- Men's 5k Finals: Abdihamid Nur, Luis Grijalva
Thursday, August 29:
