Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Scott Russell prepares to release the javelin during the final round of competition during the Kansas Relays. Russell, a former KU track athlete won the javelin throw with a meet-record 258 feet, 2 inches.
An Olympic flag hangs in Scott Russell’s office in Robinson Gymnasium as a simple reminder of his goal: to throw the javelin in the Olympics.
“That flag will stay there until I make an Olympic team,” Russell said.
Russell, a Windsor, Ontario, graduate student and teaching assistant, is a former track-and-field athlete at the University of Kansas. He received a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from the University in 2002, but returned last year to earn a master’s degree in physical education.
Since his graduation from the University in 2002, Russell has been throwing the javelin in international track meets. According to the International Association of Athletics Federations, he is ranked first in Canada and 31st in the world. He hopes to make the Canadian Olympic team in 2008.
Last weekend at the Kansas Relays, Russell made his first attempt at a qualifying throw for the 2008 games. His throw of 264.8 feet won the competition but did not meet the Olympic qualifying standard of 267.65 feet.
This year isn’t Russell’s first time trying to qualify for the Olympics. He tried in 2000, but didn’t make a qualifying throw.
“I wasn’t too worried about it,” Russell said. “I had a lot of years left.”
Russell said he had thought 2004 would be his year to compete in the Olympics. He wrote “I am going to the Olympics” at the top of each page in a journal that he logged all of his workouts in that year. But Russell strained his groin a month before the Olympic trials. He threw almost 20 feet below the Canadian qualifying standard that year.
“I remember getting a phone call,” said Candace Dunback, a friend and former KU track-and-field athlete. “He was absolutely heartbroken.”
Russell’s lowest point came in 2005. After three years without any major accomplishments, the Canadian government pulled the funding it gave Russell to train and support himself.
Seeing little possibility for a future in javelin throwing, Russell considered quitting the sport. Then he received a check for $2,500 from an anonymous Canadian couple who wanted to see him qualify for the 2005 World Track and Field Championship. He decided to compete in a few more meets.
“For someone to put that much belief in me, it was mind-boggling,” Russell said. “I competed for them for the rest of that season.”
In his first competition after receiving the anonymous donation, Russell set a new Canadian record with a throw of 276.94 feet.
The throw qualified Russell for the 2005 World Track and Field Championship and the Canadian government decided to reinstate his funding for two years.
“That one throw ended three years of frustration,” said Russell’s father, Dan Russell. Scott is putting the past behind him as he begins his quest to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.
“Coming into this year, I’m pretty positive,” Russell said. “I’m kind of expecting big things this year.”
Russell is coached by Andy Kokhanovsky, the throwing coach of the KU track and field team. He works out six days a week and said he has changed his attitude.
“I compete because it’s fun now,” Russell said. “It’s an emotional roller coaster. You train for the emotional highs.”
Kokhanovsky said Russell had a good chance of fulfilling his dream.
“Not only can he make an Olympic team, I think he can be a real contender at the Olympics,” Kokhanovsky said.
Russell will compete in several international meets and the Canadian national competitions this year. In order to qualify for the 2008 games in Beijing, he must make a qualifying throw during the 2008 season.
Russell said he is happy to have started his Olympic journey at Kansas.
“The atmosphere of having the crowd right on top of you is great,” Russell said. “To compete in front of your home crowd is awesome.”
Kansan correspondent Erin Sommer can be contacted at editor@kansan.com.
— Edited by Darla Slipke
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