Shot putter Chase Ealey, pentathlete Anna Hall both have American records in sight at USATF nationals
By David Woods for DyeStat
Chase Ealey has had such an unusual ascension in track and field, there has to be an unusual explanation. Folks back home in Los Alamos, N.M., have one.
The sprinter-turned-thrower is so athletic “because of the radiation,” they joke. “It’s, like, in the water,” Ealey said.
Los Alamos, a city of 13,000, is site of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where an atomic bomb was developed during World War II.
Ealey’s mother, Michelle Naranjo-Martinez, was at the news conference Wednesday for the USATF Indoor Championships at Albuquerque, N.M.
“Turn out the lights,” she said, “and she’ll glow for you.”
No radiation needed.
Ealey is a bright light in this sport. Last year she became the first American woman to win a shot put gold medal at an outdoor World Championships. And she finished second in Track & Field News’ U.S. athlete of the year voting behind Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
Ealey said she is eager to return to New Mexico to perform in front of family and friends, even though she won the second of two U.S. indoor titles at Albuquerque in 2020. She said she was not the athlete then that she is now.
On Saturday, she will try to break the American record – 66-3.75 (20.21 meters) – shared with Michelle Carter. Ealey won with a world-leading 65-8 ¾ (20.03m) at the Millrose Games last week.
“I had a bit of a rocky start to the indoor season,” she said. “My whole goal this indoor season was to smash the American record instead of just tying it. I kind of feel I’m getting back on my feet now. So now that’s back on the table.”
When reflecting on her high school days, she said, it was all about sprinting. The 5-10 Ealey won a four-year sweep of state titles in the 100 meters, featuring a time of 12.35 seconds as a senior in 2012. She was encouraged to try the shot, too, and won a couple of state titles In becoming a 47-foot thrower.
“I feel like I’m back there right now,” she said. “Being a sprinter and stuff, it’s weird. The one who sprinted and threw on the side. And now it’s definitely not.”
She continued her growth at Oklahoma State, finishing second at NCAAs with a 59-foot throw in 2016 and exceeding 60 feet to place seventh at the Olympic Trials that year.
A case of COVID-19 left her in a weakened state at the 2021 trials, and she finished fifth to miss out on the Tokyo…
CLICK HERE to Read the Full Original Article at RunnerSpace News…