by RBR Admin
Kelsey Card makes the team! photo by PhotoRun.net
Here is Lindsay Rossmiller’s second column for RunBlogRun on the discus thrower, Kelsey Card (On Wisconsin!), and her excitemetn at making the team for Rio! The Olympic Trials are about the beginnings, middles and ends of athletes careers, it is brutal in its honesty.
Kelsey Card Makes Team U.S.A. with Third Place Finish and Heads to Rio
by Lindsay Rossmiller
EUGENE, Oregon
Kelsey Card heard the announcer say that she was going to Rio just before she stepped into the discus ring to make her final throw at the Olympic Trials.
“My legs were all jiggling when I went in,” said Card.
Ultimately she didn’t improve, but her first throw of 60.13 meters was enough to finish third and for Card to make Team U.S.A. for her first time.
Whitney Ashley won with 62.25 meters and Shelbi Vaughn of Texas A&M was second with 60.28 as all three earned their first trips to the Olympics.
Card waited anxiously throughout the rounds to see if her first-round throw would hold up.
“I was scared about Stephanie [Brown Trafton] and then Valarie [Allman] because I knew they both had the standard and could whip one out, especially Stephanie because she’s so experienced. I’ve looked up to her for years,” said Card.
Hayward Field has been good to Card recently. She finished her collegiate career just three weeks ago when she won the NCAA Outdoor Championships with 63.52 as a redshirt senior for the University of Wisconsin. The top four competitors in that field all threw over the Olympic standard.
Like almost anything though, her recent success has taken time to achieve. Card was initially a reluctant thrower.
“I’ll have you know, I was a 100 runner on a 4×100 in seventh grade and we made state,” said Card of her early track career. “We had a really bad handoff so we didn’t finish well, but I did run.”
Her father was a high school track coach who started teaching her to throw when she was in fifth grade as he also taught her sister who was six years older.
“Every Sunday, we were out there,” said Card. “Even though I didn’t always like it, I definitely would not have gotten here without him pushing me and his support throughout my whole life.”
Card’s dad coached her through middle school and then continued to set her strength training throughout high school.
In 2012, Card was a shot put competitor at the Olympic Trials. She failed to advance past the preliminary round.
“I remember coach saying, ‘This is for experience, this is for 2016,'” said Card. “It’s amazing that actually came true.”
As she ran around the track in 2016 on a victory lap with Ashley and Vaughn, Card was struck by the experience as a young girl handed her a stuffed animal at the end.
“It was just amazing to see all the fans,” said Card. “Even if they know nothing about throwing, they know what you did was important and they’re so excited for you.”
So when she goes to bed that night, Card will be able to let those moments finally sink in and maybe start to dream about what that next big moment might be like as she is led out onto the field in Rio and sees all the camera flashes. It’s a moment she’s seen on TV many times, but this time, it will be real life.
