DES MOINES, Iowa -- Standing atop the medal stand is an athlete's dream. For Brittany Borman of Oklahoma it will remain so despite winning a national championship Wednesday.
Borman's fourth toss in the women's javelin flew 184-feet-7, good enough to win her second straight national championship. The winning mark was more than five feet better than that of second-place Brianna Bain, a freshman from Stanford. The post-event celebration was muted as Borman immediately headed to compete in the discus, which also had its final Wednesday.
Courtesy of OklahomaBrittany Borman of Oklahoma won her second straight javelin national title.Borman, a UCLA transfer, began her college career as a heptathalete, so she is used to going directly from one event to another. This time, though, it made the championship presentation look like a political protest as the medal stand featured the eighth-through-second finishers, but the top step was vacant save for the unattended national championship trophy.
Her coach, Brian Blutreich, said the schedule changed about a month before the meet, putting Borman's events in close proximity. While Blutreich wished for a little more time between throws, Borman, who grew up in Festus, Mo., said she was fine with it.
"I was looking forward to it. I was excited to go right into the next one," she said. "I was pretty excited throughout the whole thing."
The two events also took place outside Drake Stadium in a field immediately north. Crowds are smaller as fans have to make do with a seat on a grassy slope behind the throwing net. Borman, sporting two diamond earrings in her left ear following the events, said she'd rather be in the spotlight ("I enjoy throwing at Oregon where it's all in the middle of everything") but there were enough fans to stoke her adrenaline.
It was not, however, enough to spur her to a second national championship in the discus. She finished 13th.
"I'm disappointed, but I'm glad I made it," Borman said.
Last season's javelin coup was Oklahoma's first women's outdoor title since 1994.
San Diego State senior Whitney Ashley won the discus with a throw of 196feet, 10 inches. That topped second place Anna Jelmini of Arizona State by four feet.
