Mukilteo’s Beard sets national age 15-16 hammer throw record
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Kim Beard has been chasing down her age group’s national record in the girls hammer throw all year long. In her last chance of the year she finally made it her own.
The Mukilteo resident set a new national mark as she repeated as girls 15-16 national champion in the hammer at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships, which took place July 24-30 in Eugene, Oregon.
Beard, who’s headed into her sophomore year at King’s High School, unleashed a throw of 176 feet, 1 inch. Not only was it enough to win the competition, it surpassed the previous girls 15-16 national record of 167-9.
“I don’t know if there are words,” was Beard’s reaction. “I’m just blown away by the distance.”
Beard had been stalking the national record. She actually surpassed the previous record when she threw 168-1 earlier this year at the Occidental (California) Invitational. However, because that throw took place in a collegiate event and not in an age-group specific competition, it was not recognized as the national record.
But Beard claimed the record for herself in emphatic fashion at nationals when she sailed her third of six throws more than eight feet further than the previous mark. The distance, which won the event by more than 20 feet, also broke the national freshman record, which was 173-4 and had stood since 2007.
“I started off with a foul, and then my second throw was really steep so it hit the ground twice,” Beard said. “Usually when it hits the ground even once it’s bad, but it was still 165 feet. So I was like, ‘Whoa, there’s a lot of power today, today is going to be good.’”
While Beard knew her record-breaking throw was good, she had to wait several minutes to know for sure she had broken the record.
“It was at Hayward Field (where Beard competed previously this year), but the lines were different this time, so I had no idea what distances I was throwing,” Beard said. “I could hear my mom yelling, she was taking photos really far away and had a better view from where she was standing. But it took a long time to get the distance because they had to bring out the steel tape to measure it and do the paperwork, so they weren’t releasing the actual number. I was like, ‘Just tell me!’”
A handful of other Snohomish County residents also took part in the meet.
Recent Lynnwood High School graduate Tresley Love placed seventh in the women 17-18 400 meters. Love ran a personal-best time of 55.89 seconds in the semifinals to qualify for the finals, then recorded a time of 56.38 in the finals.
Mukilteo sisters Avery and Maya Goldwire, who attend Holy Names High School, both finished in the top 15 in the girls 15-16 heptathlon. Avery Goldwire scored 3,868 points to place 11th while Maya Goldwire scored 3,363 to take 15th.
