Last Saturday in Sacramento, Calif. Adam Nelson '97 became Dartmouth's 22nd Olympian ever, and he did it in style.
The 25-year-old shot-putter from Atlanta, Ga., competing for team Nike, uncorked a personal best throw of 22.12 meters (72'7") in the sixth and final round of the U.S. Olympic Trials to vault past current World Champion C.J. Hunter and perennial favorite Andy Bloom into the top spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
Coincidentally, that throw of 72 plus feet was the best throw posted in the world in the year 2000 and an Olympic trials record.
"I got fired up and focused, feeding off the energy Andy [Bloom] had," Nelson told www.trackandfield.com. "It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I felt the rhythm in slow motion, and I knew it was going to be a good throw."
That throw now springs Nelson to the front of a long list of American favorites to win gold in Syndey, the only accolade to be absent from Nelson's trophy case.
As a competitor at Dartmouth, Nelson was no stranger to stiff competition. Even on his own team, Nelson battled tough competitors like Alex Ghanotakis '97 who ranks second, one spot ahead of Nelson, on Dartmouth's all-time discus records. But obviously, the discus wasn't his main area of focus.
Following his freshman season at Dartmouth, Nelson won the Junior World Championship and continued to improve from there. A three-time All-American ('95-'96', 96'-97, '97-'98), Nelson won the 1997 NCAA Outdoor Championship in the shotput and finished second the previous season at the Indoor Championship. In the summer of 1998, Nelson placed third in the Goodwill Games held in New York City.
What he really wants, though, is an Olympic Gold Medal.
"Adam Nelson is a perfect example of how hard work and a competitive spirit bring out the best in an athlete. Adam's physical tools are excellent; he is unbelievably fast in the throwing circle and tremendously strong in the weight room," Dartmouth Track and Field Head Coach Barry Harwick '77 said.
"What really distinguishes Adam is his drive to win. Nobody in Sydney is going to want the gold medal more than Adam," he continued.
Nelson is the all-time record holder in the shotput for the Big Green with a throw of 65'3", eight feet better than the nearest mark. But in order to compete at the world-class level, he had to better that throw by over six feet, no small task in the world of throwing.
One of the men who helped Nelson do it, Dartmouth Field Coach Carl Wallin, commented on how he has made such a jump so big, so fast.
"He is so deeply focused, and not afriad of failure," Wallin said. "He may be considered small for the sport(6'0", 250 lbs.) but size doesn't matter with his focus and attitude."
Although he is among the favorites on this deeply talented American team, Nelson still has a long way to go before he has the medal around his neck, but there are those who think it may just end up there.
"If he can get through training healthy, and take the pressure off himself, I think he can do it," Wallin said. "After all, he made it through Dartmouth, and this is a tough feat in itself. My money is on Adam."
