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American record holder in javelin stays humble amid success
By David Lee Morgan Jr.
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Wednesday, Jul 02, 2008
You never have to worry about Olympian Kim Kreiner thinking that she is better than someone who can't match her athletic accomplishments.
Kreiner, a 1995 Mogadore graduate, has qualified for her second Olympic Games. Kreiner, also a Kent State graduate, will represent the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing next month in the javelin. She is the American record holder in the event at 210 feet, 7 inches.
She also is a four-time USA champion (2001, '04, '05, '06) and was the 2004 Olympic Trials champion qualifying for '04 Olympics in Greece, where she finished 21st in Group B.
Yet, all that success hasn't changed Kreiner one bit. When it comes to knowing where she came from, Kreiner never has to be reminded.
''I'm always grateful for the position I'm in and the opportunities I've had,'' said Kreiner, who lives in Fresno, Calif. ''Everything that I get or accomplish, I'm very thankful for and I don't take anything for granted because I'm a very humble person.
''Growing up in Mogadore has been helpful,'' she said. ''My parents have always taught me to be humble, and they won't let me get a big head.''
At the U.S. Olympic Trials on Monday night in Oregon, Kreiner was fourth but had already secured a spot on the Olympic team. Kreiner, 30, was the top seed.
Air Force Academy graduate Dana Pounds, the reigning U.S. champ, upset
Kreiner last year to qualify for the world championships and was expected to push for one of the Olympic spots, along with Oregon's Rachel Yurkovich.
But it was Purdue's Kara Patterson who won the championship Monday with a winning distance of 191-9, a U.S. Olympic Trials record. The previous record (with the new javelin) was 191-2 by Linda Blutreich at Sacramento, Calif., in 2000.
Pounds was second (189-9) and Yurkovich, the NCAA champion, was third (185-1).
Although Pounds and Yurkovich finished ahead of Kreiner, they didn't make the Olympic team because Kreiner and Patterson were the only U.S. javelin throwers to have met the Olympic 'A' standard of 198-9.
Kreiner said her past Olympic experience will be the key for her in Beijing.
She compared her first Olympic foray to reaching the championship level in other sports.
''Just like the NBA, once you've been (to the Finals), you know how to handle the pressure,'' she said. ''You know how much pressure is going to be put on you. I'm my own worst critic. In 2004, no one knew me and I wasn't picked to win so it was a new situation for me.
''Now, I know what worked and what didn't work. I think I'm much stronger physically, and mentally, then I was four years ago.''
And Kreiner said she didn't mind being a little fish in a big pond in Greece.
''It was fun because I was the unknown thrower from a small town that no one ever heard of,'' she said. ''I would have to show people on a map where I was from.''
David Lee Morgan Jr. can be reachedat dlmorgan@thebeaconjournal.com.
You never have to worry about Olympian Kim Kreiner thinking that she is better than someone who can't match her athletic accomplishments.
Get the full article here.
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