Adam Nelson, a 1997 Dartmouth graduate, took the silver medal in the Olympic shot put competition for the United States on Friday. The gold-medal winner, Arsi Harju of Finland, had a winning throw only 10 centimeters longer than Nelson's best attempt of 69 feet, 7 inches.
Harju exceeded his career best throw by almost two feet to take the gold that Nelson was favored to win. Harju was the only athlete to record a personal best.
Nelson fell far short of his world-record throw of 72 feet, 7 inches, which he set at this year's Olympic trials. Harju's gold-medal-winning throw measured 69 feet, 10 1/4 inches -- the shortest throw to win the Olympic competition since 1984.
On Nelson's sixth throw and final throw, he fouled, eliminating his chances to overtake his Finnish opponent.
While the initial reaction of spectators may have leaned towards disappointment, Nelson seemed to take it all in stride.
"I'm not disappointed at all," Nelson told the Boston Herald. "This is my first big meet, and it's the biggest meet in the world, and I came in second. Honestly, I'm really happy. I'm really happy it's over."
Nelson's big-time athletic career started at Dartmouth, but not in the traditional way of a track and field athlete. He started as a football player who took the advice of a coach to try track and field as well.
He won a number of Heptaganol meets from 1994 on, and his years at Dartmouth saw him improve from 13th at the NCAA indoor meet in 1995 to winning the meet in 1997.
Former Dartmouth teammate Pete Pasho described the person he knew when they trained together. "Adam was outgoing and a lot of fun to be around, and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. He was great to practice with, intense but never intimidating."
After graduating from Dartmouth with a government degree in the spring of 1997, Nelson went on to place third at the Goodwill Games, and was aiming hard for a peak at the 1999 World Championships when he suffered a possibly career-jeopardizing back injury. He was faced with a difficult decision: undergo surgery and possibly miss his shot at a first Olympiad or rest off the injury.
The story had a happy ending with Nelson's decision to rest placing him in prime position for the best meet of his life, the Olympic Trials this year in Sacramento. From there on is now history, but Nelson's shot put career is definitely not to be talked about in past tense.
"A silver medal in the Olympics, come on," Nelson reported to the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. This is unbelievable. I'll tell you this, though, it'll keep me coming back in four years."
Gold medal or not, the Dartmouth Community has reason to be proud of this Big Green Alum. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Nelson worked at the Olympic Village. Just four years later, he medaled in them.
