June 27, 2016

Hey Badger Fans!

I apologize for the hiatus in my entries; the last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy. We finished up the collegiate season at Outdoor NCAA Nationals in Eugene, OR. Zack Ziemek had a great showing in the decathlon with a second place finish, and having the most points ever recorded by a second place finisher in that event. We also had some younger athletes make their national debuts and they did very well and I am excited for their futures. Shot put was not a great competition for me, but I did get to witness the national record being broken. Discus was an amazing competition all around. The top four finishers all recorded throws that met the Olympic Qualifying standard. I was glad to not have to say goodbye to a lot of my competitors because I will see most of them at the Trials. To celebrate the meet, we went to Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland and it was delicious!

The Olympic Trials are being held back in Eugene. Even though it is a long travel trip I am excited to go back and compete there. I love the atmosphere at Hayward Field and that area of the country in general. Earlier I mentioned the Olympic Qualifying standard and that is the first thing you must have to qualify for the Olympics from the United States. This standard could be attained starting May of last year. Once an athlete has this standard, they must then compete at the Olympic Trials and finish in the top three of people that have the standard in their event. Theoretically an athlete could win the Trials and not go to the Olympics if they don’t also have the standard. On the flip side an athlete could also have the standard and not go to the Olympics if they don’t finish top three of competitors that have it. Zack and I have the standard in our respective events so we need to finish in the top three at the Trials to continue on. The trials last ten days with two down days during the event. I compete on the first and hopefully second day for discus and shot put is on the seventh of July. Zack competes on July second and third. It will also be really cool to see the professional athletes compete.

This will be my last time competing in Badger uniform. It has been such an honor and all around amazing experience to represent the W on my uniform. I have not decided what I will do in the immediate future following the Trials, but I am happy that I have several ideas for things that interest me. I will always be a Badger and I am thrilled to have joined the ranks of Wisconsin Alumni.

As always, On, Wisconsin,

Kelsey Card