Thursday, June 30, 2011

It Only Takes One!

Last Saturday's national championship reinforced one of the things I love most about hammer throwing; one throw is all it takes! That simply means, you could be having the best or worst throws of your life, and it only takes one throw to completely change the outcome. In my case, my very last throw took me from 5th place and NOT making the world team, to 2nd place and making my third World Championship team!!! Now with that said, not making the world team was never even an option in my head. Having known the pain of failure in 2004, when I fouled out of the NCAA championships then turned around and didn't make the Olympic team that same year, and missed the world team in 2007, I was not about to endure that again! But up until that last throw, from the outside looking in, it was a completely different story. I fouled my first attempt, and thats never a good way to start a high level comp. I followed that up with a "safe" 67 and knew I made the final. That should have been the green light in my head to loosen up and let it fly, but that didn't quite happen. My last throw of prelims was a not so flattering 64. So going into finals I was in 4th place. I wasn't worried about it because the finals become a whole new comp so to speak. My fourth round throw I put a bit more "umph" on it and it only comes up a 66. At this point I know I'm running out of opportunities to seal my spot on the team, and I start really thinking about my technique and making sure its going to feel perfect. Well my next throw does feel really good, but as Dave said "you don't get style points" and I went waaaay too slow and dropped it at a meager 63. Dave at this point is not happy with how I'm not stepping up like we know I can and reminded me of some really important things. 1. I've worked too hard and done it the right way. 2. When situations are tough, champions thrive under pressure. 3. And its not going to take a miracle to make the team, just do what I know how to do! With the encouragement of him, my family, and the crowd I stepped into the circle for my final throw and clenched my spot with a throw of 70.07 for 2nd place. Of course I would have loved to win, but that might have been the sweetest feeling 70m throw of my life! Needless to say I definatly had to thank God for giving me the fortitude to dig deep and go for that one. What a day!!!!!




Now I'm sitting in Cork, Ireland preparing for my next adventure in throwing. On Saturday I'll be competing in the Cork City Sports International Athletics Meeting. I'm not sure who is going to be here, but whomever it is, I hope they're ready for a battle. I have some unspent anger I need to unleash. :-) Until next time!




Love and Blessings,


Amber

Friday, June 3, 2011

Lessons Learned

I've been home for a while now and I've had time to reflect on my Brazilian meet series. While I didn't throw as far in these meets as I've thrown earlier in the season, I learned a lot about myself as an athlete. I'm a creature of habit, but when I'm abroad I can't let that become a distraction. Everyone has to deal with the same delays, time constraints, or annoyances so I just have to deal and get over it. Situations are rarely exactly what I want them to be. Champions adapt and overcome!

This week I reached a new milestone in my life, I turned 30!!!! I had a lot of people tell me that "its all downhill from here" but that's because in my opinion, they're short sighted. I'm just now starting to hit a good stride in my career, and there are quite literally a million things that I still want to accomplish in my life. So while they say its all downhill, I say I'm only beginning to climb the hill!

The 2011 Outdoor National Championships are coming up in Eugene, OR on Saturday June 25th. For those of you who can't make it, they're televising it on Universal from 3p-4:30p EST and on Sunday June 26th from 5p-6p EST on NBC. Good luck to all the athletes as we compete to make the World Championship Team! Daegu, here we come!

Peace and Blessings,
Amber

Twitter AmberCampbellThrows

Throws Information

Throwing formats
In Olympic throwing events -- men's and women's shot put, discus, hammer and javelin -- the competition begins with a qualifying round in which the entire field is divided into two or more groups. In this round, competitors take turns attempting to reach a pre-set distance that automatically advances them to the final. If fewer than 12 athletes meet the distance required from direct qualification, the 12 competitors with the best throws, plus any athletes tying for 12th, advance to the final. In the final round, competitors take turns until each has attempted three throws. At this point, the top eight-ranked competitors (plus ties) receive three more throws. The best throw of the six is counted and the athlete with the longest throw is declared the winner. In case of a tie, the second-best throw is consulted.

Amber In her MJOLNIR Armor

Amber In her MJOLNIR Armor
Amber takes Gold at the Indoor Nationals

Olympic Trials 2008

Celebrating with the Campbell's

Indoor Championship 2009