Monday, April 20, 2009
For Scott Russell, Friday was just another afternoon tossing a javelin at the University. Except this day crowds gathered to watch the Olympian, gazing and cheering in awe as he wowed them and easily won the event with a toss of 75.08 meters.
Russell, a KU graduate who lives and trains in Lawrence, wasn’t exactly pleased with his performance, but that would be difficult to tell for the casual observer.
“It was a rough start but a good start,” he said of the competition.
This was Russell’s first competition of the season.
In between world-class heaves, Russell laughed and joked with friends and family who showed up to support him. He also acted as part cheerleader, part athlete, getting the crowd to clap for each of the throwers, including himself, during the competition.
“We practice every day, and it’s different having a crowd behind you,” he said. “Having all the faces you recognize — trainers, coaches, Lawrence High kids, in-laws, my wife — It’s a really cool environment and it’s easy to compete in.”
The KU relays are a much different stage from the 2008 Beijing Olympic games where Russell, a Windsor, Ontario, native, competed for Canada. He placed 10th in the javelin throw.
“It was ridiculous,” he said of the experience. “You know you’re going to see 91,000 people when you enter the stadium, you know you’re going to see the torch, but you don’t realize the little things you’ll experience like the Canadian National Anthem coming on when you walk in the stadium.”
Even on the world’s grandest stage, Russell still managed to keep his laid-back attitude.
“I never thought I’d be that relaxed going into the Olympics,” he said.
It was an experience that he almost didn’t achieve. After missing the cut for the 2004 Athens games, Russell was on the brink of giving up competition.
“I thought ‘Why am I still doing this?’” he said. “I didn’t have the support system that I have now.”
He was out of money and motivation, but a friend gave him the money to compete one more time, and on his first throw at the competition, he set the national Canadian record for javelin.
“It saved my career,” he said of the throw. “I don’t know where I’d be. I probably would have just gone home and started working.”
Instead, Russell is back competing at the University, where he spent his college years. Russell decided to make the move from Canada to KU after both the school and the town impressed him.
“The school itself had a really good reputation,” he said. “And there’s just something about Lawrence. It’s really laid-back, just like I am outside of competition.”
The Kansas Relays provide a chance for him to reminisce about his many years in Lawrence. Russell has made the city his home base. He trains locally at Next Level Sports Performance, 644 E. Locust St., and is even helping coach the Lawrence High track team.
“I’m really glad and really lucky to have the support system I have here,” he said. “I thank all the people here who let me do it.”
In between training, coaching, and competing, he finds time to work on a master’s degree in education.
“I’m trying to figure it all out,” he said. “I know I want to throw, and I know I want to teach. Right now I’m trying to see if I can make it work financially.”
— — Edited by Liz Schubauer
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