Local thrower Rachel Andres is getting ready for her next meets with a goal of competing in the Pan Am Games in Peru July 26-Aug. 11.
As Andres competes, the student athletes she coaches will be doing their best as well.
The most immediate meet is the Chinook Throws Gala which takes place in Lethbridge during the May long weekend.
"(It's) mine and my kids' best opportunity to put out some big marks before qualification meets (and) dates hit," she says.
The big focus for Andres is the Pan Am Games.
A major step along that road are the Nationals which take place July 25-28 in Montreal. They're also a qualifier for the 2019 IAAF World Championships.
Andres says the Pan Am Games are looming so large so fast she's treating the Nationals in Montreal "as a practice."
"Trying to peak in two meets that close to each other is almost impossible. I can be at a high level for Nationals, just not peaking level," she says.
Meanwhile, she'll be competing "at medium level" in smaller meets like the New Balance athletic series #1 May 5 in Calgary and the Spring Challenge, which takes place May 11-12 at the University of Calgary.
Later she'll gear up for a higher level of competition in events like the CALTAF Classic and Alberta Legion Team Trials June 14-16 in Calgary and the Foote Field Open June 28-30.
Meanwhile, Andres is working with another coach to set up a discus meet on a weekday evening in the last week of April to provide student athletes with another meet in order to show what they can do.
On March 30, Andres competed in the ORU Invitational meet in Tulsa, Okla.
The competition — and the weather — made for a tough one.
"Competition day was 0C with a 50km tailwind which is the worst possible wind for a discus thrower," Andres wrote in an email. "The distances are reduced by at least 20 per cent before the cold is taken into account."
Despite those conditions, Andres won, throwing 51.84 metres (m)
That was after throwing in the 56-60 m range during the warmer weather during the week.
"So that was disappointing, but probably my best distance I’ve thrown in such terrible conditions," she wrote.
"Another thrower who had just thrown 55 m the week before barely was able to throw 48 m and she placed second behind me. So that shows how much distance the weather removed from a thrower other than myself."
As the Albertan reported earlier, Andres is also among four Olds ladies nominated for Women of Excellence at the 12th annual Red Deer & District Community Foundation’s Women of Excellence awards, which will be handed out June 19 in Red Deer.
