Winning the discus event in Sacramento was a dream that Anyanwu had tried to keep at bay in the days leading up to the NCAA meet last week.
"Right now it's a total shock," Anyanwu said. "I came to Cal as a walk-on so I guess I never quite expected this. I guess over the last couple of months I knew that it could be a possibility, but right now, actually, it's a total shock."
When the women's discus event took place Saturday morning, the Cal senior and native of San Jose was hoping for a big throw that would put her in medal contention. Earlier this season she had begun to break into the upper echelons of her sport with steady if gradual improvements under the tutelage of Throws Coach Jennifer
Joyce.
Coach Joyce probably - if privately - found some vindication in Anyanwu's accomplishment after being singled out for criticism by John Crumpacker in an unbalanced article on the California Track & Field program in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Although Kelechi was ranked second nationally coming into last week's meet, she knew she had her work cut out for her given the level of competition at the meet.
Like a champion rising to the occasion, the adrenaline took over and Anyanwu uncorked a huge throw of 188 feet, 10 inches on her first attempt - to put a lot of pressure on her competitors.
She ended up stunning the field and winning the meet by nearly 10 feet over
rival Tai Battle of Arizona State.
"When Kelechi threw her first one like that it made us try harder, but
it was a little demoralizing at the same time," Andrews said.
Anyanwu agreed her first big throw definitely put the burden of proof
on her competitors.
"Starting off like that was perfect and I was really happy with
my performance," Anyanwu said. "I had a really good solid set of
throws. I had three throws that would have won the competition, so overall
I had a good meet."
"Even though Coach Joyce worked with me on what to expect with the atmosphere
here, I don't think you can actually prepare yourself to experience this meet," Anyanwu
said.
Anyanwu plans to train after college but the economics major has
already been working at Price Cooper Waterhouse.
"There is still a lot of work I need to do to get to the next level," Anyanwu
said. "But this is the first year I have considered training after my
college career."
Anyanwu will compete at the USATF National Championships in Indianapolis, and
will try to finish in the top three to qualify for the IAAF World Championships
in Osaka, Japan in August.
Anyanwu had a very balanced perspective about her performance. "A
lot of good things can happen here -
but a lot of bad things can happen too," she said.
Still, this was a good thing, one she will remember for the rest of her life.
And just to make sure I'm covered here, Anyanwu's last statement to me was "Go
Bears!"
Kelechi Anyanwu's profile is available
here.
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