By Hannah Bonnie
In the men’s javelin final Monday at the U.S Track and Field Olympic Trials, Cyrus Hostetler began clapping to get the crowd pumped up. As the claps grew louder and faster, Hostetler, a former Oregon Duck, let out an ecstatic scream as he threw the winning distance of 273 feet, 1 inch.
“I knew if I just stuck it, it was going to go far,” he said. “The second I hit it, I knew it was gone. I knew I was going to take the lead. … I definitely knew that the only way that I was going to throw far is to really get that crowd behind me and kind of absorb the energy of Hayward Field.”
In celebration, Hostetler ran across the track, angering runners of the men’s 5,000, which was going on at the time, to embrace his coach, Christina Sherwin. At 29 years old, Hostetler had never won a national championship.
“Even though it’s towards the end of my career, I’m just happy that I finally got the medal that I wanted,” he said.
Finishing in second was Curtis Thompson, who started off the competition by throwing 271-11, an Olympic trials record (until it was broken by Hostetler). He set the tone for the rest of the competition, but because he did not meet the Olympic standard, he will not go to Rio. Third-place finisher Riley Dolezal also missed the Olympic standard, so fourth-place Sam Crouser and 11th-place Sean Furey will represent the United States in Rio.
“I wasn’t throwing as far as I wanted, but it was better than what it has been throughout the year,” said Crouser, another former Oregon Duck. He had a difficult season. He began training in February, which was later than he wanted due to tendonitis.
Crouser is excited to train with Hostetler in preparation for Rio. “I think it’s good to watch each other and help each other out,” he said.
“We’re definitely seeing American men’s javelin on the rise,” said Hostetler. “Maybe I’m the past, but these guys are the future. And they are going to do so well on Team USA. So well.”
