OLDS – An Olds resident aiming to qualify for the Olympics in Paris this summer is getting closer to her dream after a recent competition.
Rachel Andres competed in shot put April 6, 7, 13 and 14 in Ramona, Oklahoma.
“I went down to the U.S. sitting in 64th position on the Road to Paris ranking list and came back ranked 53rd,” Andres said.
She needs to be in the top 32 to secure her Olympic spot.
“My goal for this very early start to my season with only a few days of outside practice under my belt was to start throwing further than last year,” she said. “Any mark further than last year would improve my ranking and help to set a good tone for the season.”
Andres said she exceeded her realistic goals and went into unrealistic goals setting a new personal best of 59.31 metres (m) while in the U.S.
That personal best, she said, breaks the Alberta Provincial Record, the Canadian Masters record, and puts her number 7 in Canada all-time.
She’s now within her realistic range of hitting the automatic Olympic qualifying distance of 64.50m.
“While competing in Oklahoma, I also had the privilege of seeing some top all-time throws happen including a new World Record in the men’s discus set by Mykolas Alekna with a 74.35m,” said Andres
The record originally set by Jurgen Schult hadn’t been touched since 1986, she noted.
And on the women’s side, Yaime Perez threw a 73.09m for the furthest throw by a woman since 1988.
“It was literally like being a part of the Olympics in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma,” she concluded.
