Okoro Wins Shot Put Title at USA Junior Championships
June 22, 2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio - University of Louisville freshman Chinwe Okoro became the first Cardinal woman ever to win a junior national title with Sunday's victory in the shot put competition at the 2008 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. With the win, Okoro clinched a spot on Team USA for the upcoming IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland on July 8-13 and becomes the Cards' first junior national champion since Cory Thorne won the men's 3,000m steeplechase in 2006. A native of Russell, Ky., Okoro had a personal best throw of 53 feet, 0.25 inches (16.06m) to defeat a field of 24 of the best 19-and-under throwers from throughout the nation. Becky O'Brien was second with a throw of 52-01.75, more than 10 inches shy of Okoro's winning mark. "I was very excited and surprised about my performance today," Okoro said. "I had my family, Coach Cowper and D'Ana rooting me on. After the results of the discus (on Friday), I was motivated and ready to perform. Now, I'm looking forward to Poland and competing for Team USA with D'Ana." Okoro joins teammate D'Ana McCarty, who finished second in Friday's hammer throw to clinch a spot on Team USA, to become the first Louisville women ever to represent Team USA at the IAAF World Junior Championships and the first Cardinal track and field athletes to do so since the trio of Tone Belt, Andre Black and Cory Thorne represented Team USA in 2006. Belt went on to become the program's first World Championships medalist winning the silver medal in the long jump.
"I'm so proud of the performances by both Chinwe and D'Ana this weekend and the way they represented themselves and the University of Louisville," said Cards' head coach Ron Mann. "To have season's best performances on a stage like this is a great statement about their competitiveness. We're excited about their chances at the World Junior Championships and about what they can achieve in the Louisville uniform in the years to come." Okoro opened the USA Junior Outdoor Championships on Friday with a third-place finish in the discus, narrowly missing on two World Junior Championship bids. Up next, the Cards will have at least three athletes competing for spots on Team USA for the 2008 Summer Olympics as jumpers Tone Belt and Andre Black and thrower Jere' Summers compete at the US Olympic Team Trials on June 27-July 6 in Eugene, Ore., while freshman Michael Eaton has earned the "B" qualifying standard in the 10,000m run. The Cards will also have two international-born athletes pursuing the Olympic dream this summer, including men's jumper Rudon Bastian (Bahamas) on June 27 and women's distance runner Tarah McKay (Canada) on July 3-4. Louisville head coach Ron Mann will serve as the men's middle distance coach for Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Aug. 8-24. Along with his duties in Beijing, he'll also be in Eugene for the US Olympic Team Trials. |
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