STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State’s contingent of Olympians is growing.
Former Nittany Lion Joe Kovacs, who narrowly missed qualifying for the 2012 Games in London by one spot and who held a No. 1 world shot put ranking, is headed to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he will represent the U.S. beginning on Aug. 5. Kovacs, who entered as the gold-medal favorite, finished in second place Friday night during the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore. with a throw of 21.95 m (72’-0.25”) feet.
He will be making the trip to the Olympics with another Nittany Lion. Penn State alum Darrell Hill, the 2015 NCAA second-place finisher, recorded a third-place finish at the Trials with a personal best of 21.63m (70’-11.75”).
With the top-three finishers moving on to the Olympics, Kovacs and Hill are among the first wave of track and field qualifiers to advance at the U.S. Olympic Trials, which runs until June 10 at historic Hayward Field. Kovacs’ qualification continues a stretch of dominance where he was the 2015 USATF Outdoor, World and Diamond League shot put champion. He entered Friday’s meet with a world-best mark of 22.13 m (72’-7.25”), a feat he accomplished May 27 at the Eugene Diamond League meet.
Kovacs, a Pennsylvania native who attended Bethlehem Catholic High School and graduated from Penn State in 2012, is one of eight current or former Nittany Lion athletes competing in the Trials. Hill, a Philadelphia native, was the 2015 USTFCCA Mid-Atlantic Region Indoor and Outdoor field athlete of the year.
When the squad is heading to Rio. @RCrouserThrows @B1GHomie @JoeKovacsUSA will represent Shot Put! #TrackTown16 pic.twitter.com/9YLLtMyC5Y
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) July 2, 2016