EUGENE – Kara Winger, fresh out of retirement, came out on top in the women's javelin preliminaries at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Friday at Hayward Field.
The winger threw 206 feet, 8 inches to reach Sunday's final, proving that at 38 years old, he can still compete at a world level.
When last seen on the infield at Hayward Field, the winger had won a silver medal at the 2022 World Outdoor Championships. With fans in her hometown of Vancouver, Washington cheering her on, she delivered a storybook performance on her final pitch of the tournament.
It was supposed to bring an end to a career that included four Olympic appearances: She announced she would retire at the end of the 2022 season.
Well, about that.
“I still can't believe the miracle that is 2022,” Winger said. “It's been a lot of fun.”
She couldn't shake the feeling, so she talked it over with her husband, former discus thrower Russ Winger.
“Russ and I have talked a lot about his career and what it means to take a step back as he gets older and trust the work he's put in over the last 20 years,” Winger said, “and use that intensity with a higher level of technical understanding.”
“Last year I thought it would be fun.”
During that time, Winger has been writing articles for the TrackTown USA website as an accredited member of the media, and according to USA Track & Field, she is the only media member who will also compete at the Olympic Trials.
She said she enjoyed her time at Tracktown, but she kept wondering what would happen if she took up the javelin and returned to competition.
She trained in private and took her time deciding whether to compete in this year's trials, not deciding until late May. She competed in the New York Grand Prix on June 9 and threw 207-5, not bad for a player who had been away from competition for two years.
Not only is she the oldest javelin thrower this year, she may still be the strongest.
“I'm 38 years old,” the winger says, “and some of these girls weren't even born when I competed at the Olympic Trials in 2004. It's unbelievable, but I'm OK with that. Being with them and seeing the world through their eyes has really inspired me. It's really cool to see them run PBs at the Olympic Trials. I never got to experience that.”
Winger isn't close to reaching this year's Olympic qualifying standard of 210 feet, 0 inches for the women's javelin, but she's not far off. And even if she doesn't reach 210 feet on Sunday, she could still qualify for the Olympics based on her world rankings, which are announced on July 7.
“If I can do that, that's fine,” the winger said. “If I can't, I've not been No. 1 in the world many times before, so I'm totally okay with that reality.”
Olympic Qualifier results can be found here: https://results.usatf.org/2024trials/
— Ken Goh, The Oregonian/OregonLive
