Louisville track and field athlete to make history by throwing discus in Paris Olympics

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jayden Ulrich will soon become the first United States Olympian in University of Louisville track and field history.

The 21-year-old will compete in the women's discus throw in Paris next month. Ulrich is the second female Olympian from UofL's track and field team after Chinwe Okoro competed in the women's discus throw for Nigeria at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"It's definitely been a longtime dream of mine, and I'd say a more realistic goal probably these past couple years," she said at practice Tuesday.

Ulrich posted a mark of 63.61 meters in the preliminaries and then tossed 62.63 meters in the finals to clinch a spot on Team USA.

She was the 2024 NCAA runner-up in the women's discus throw and was selected as the USTFCCCA Southeast Regional Women's Field Athlete of the Year and ACC Women's Field Athlete of the Year.

"As far as the overall what we're doing, how we're training, we're not going to try to reinvent the wheel," said Cory Martin, an assistant with the UofL Track and Field program who coaches throwers. "We're going to go with what got us here."

Ulrich is originally from southern Illinois and competed at Indiana University before transferring to UofL. The decision to transfer was made after Martin, who coached at IU, took a job on the Louisville staff.

"There wasn't really a conversation of, 'Do you want to go somewhere else?'" he said. "It was like, 'No, where are you going? I'm coming with you.'"

"Probably one of the best decisions I've ever made was following him here," Ulrich added. "I knew he had a plan, and we both stuck to it, and here I am now."

The now-Olympian began throwing discus in sixth grade.

"I was just a really strong child," she said. "It's easier. I hate running. That's exhausting."

Ulrich is partial to throwing but she won't run from hard work and said that attitude is what's led her to Paris.

"Literally, if you want to do it, you can make it happen," she said.

The women's discus throw competition will open Aug. 2.

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