Campbell heads to Rio

From teamusa.org

EUGENE, Ore. – Ask Amber Campbell to explain the hammer throw, and she nails it.

“A whirling, twirling dance of crazy,” she said. “And let it fly.”

Campbell let it fly Wednesday, July 6, at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Track and Field, winning the hammer throw on her sixth and final attempt with a personal best of 242 feet, 10 inches.

“The goal was always to win it,” said Campbell, soon to be a three-time Olympian whose Twitter handle is @usahammerhottie. “It’s a competition. I don’t want to just be here and look cute! I want to go for the win. I want that record. I was really hoping for the American record, but we’ll see if I can get that in Rio.”

Campbell won her fourth national title July 6 and is the fourth-best American hammer thrower of all time.

“To be your best on the best day possible is mind-blowing,” she said.

Thanks to a big fourth throw, Campbell, 35, already knew she was in the top three and would make Team USA, but that wasn’t enough. She wanted to regain the Olympic Trials record she’d lost a few minutes before.

“I think it brings out the competitor in all of us,” said Campbell, whose throw of 235-6 in the 2012 trials was the previous record. “I went from first to third very quickly and I was like, ‘Oh, no, no, no, no, no, I’m not letting that happen.’ So you just have to get back in there and fight. It produced some amazing results for all of us.”

Gwen Berry, 27, also saved her best for her final throw, moving into second place at 239-9. Although DeAnna Price, a 23-year-old NCAA champion from Southern Illinois, also threw 239-9, Berry had a better back-up throw. Both will be first-time Olympians. Amanda Bingson, who holds the American record of 248-5, was fourth at 230-8.

The women made the most of their time in the cage.

“That was such a blast!” said the perpetually cheerful Campbell. “I had so much fun. I was just trying to dig deep.

“We don’t get to feel that magic being out in the back field. So being able to compete in the center at Hayward, in the middle of the day with an amazing crowd, there’s nothing like it. Well, maybe Olympics is something like it, but this is awesome, too!”