It’s probably an understatement to say 2012 was a memorable year for Brittany Borman. For the DeSoto, Missouri native and former Festus High School star, it doesn’t appear things could have gone much better. Borman captured her second straight NCAA Division I Javelin national title in Des Moines, IA. in June,  as a senior for The University of Oklahoma. Later in the month she signed with an agent then signed a sponsorship contract with Nike. And July 1, 2012 is one that Borman will surely never forget. Seeking a spot on Team USA for the London Olympics, Borman competed in the women’s Javelin Finals at the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Or.

Borman not only needed a top three finish in the event to earn an Olympic trip, but Borman also needed a five-foot improvement on her personal best to meet the Olympic Games standard of 200 feet.  On her third throw, Borman launched the javelin 188-11 to move into third place. After a foul on her 4th toss and a 188-05 on her fifth toss, Borman sat in 3rd place, behind Kara Patterson and Kimberly Hamilton. Patterson had surpassed her own Olympic Trials meet record with a 196-2 on her third toss, but was injured on fourth throw and was unable to continue.

With a personal cheering squad of about 10 family members, friends, fiancee’, and former coaches, Borman had one toss left. She had secured her first USA Championships top three finish as she sat in third, but if she wanted to earn the title so many athletes dream of when growing up playing sports: “Olympian”, she was going going to have a miraculous final toss. Borman needed to hit the 61 meter mark, or right at 200 feet. This was more than 11 feet longer than her best of the competition, and more than five feet longer than her personal best of 194-11, set in early April.

After saying a prayer, Borman headed down the runway and let the spear fly. And fly it did. The crowd went wild and then waited. When the official measurement was announced: 61.51 meters or 201-09. OLYMPIAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Borman ran and jumped into friend and fellow competitor Dana Pounds-Lyon’s arms. Borman had improved on her day’s best by just under 13 feet, and her toss was nearly seven feet further than her best ever. Hamilton fouled on her final attempt and Patterson passed. Which all meant that with that final toss, Borman not only jumped to the lead and won the national title, set the Olympic Trials record, and most importantly of all: had meet and surpassed the Olympic qualifying standard. The celebration probably lasted weeks, but eventually Borman prepared for and made it to the United Kingdom for the Olympics.

Brittany Borman phone interview after Olympic Trials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h5esPWdUKw

On August 7, Borman competed in the first of two flights in the women’s Javelin qualifying round. Borman was one of 41 women in the competition, all seeking to make the finals, which came automatically with a toss of 62 meters or the top 12 finishers. Borman started off the competition in the new Olympic Stadium with a toss of 54.31m/178-2. On her second toss she improved to 56.50m/185-4. After consulting coach Brian Blutreich, Borman improved again on her final attempt with a 59.27m/194-5, her third best mark ever. Borman finished eighth among the 20 women in the first flight, with the top four earning automatic qualifying marks by surpassing 62 meters. Though unlikely, Borman had to hope that only four women in the second flight would go further than her effort.  That didn’t happen as expected, but Borman didn’t miss by much. She finished an impressive 15th overall, less than three feet from earning a trip to the finals two days later. Borman also finished ahead of her teammates and seasoned professionals Rachel Yurkovich and the injured Patterson, who got off one decent toss before doing any further damage to her knee and torn ligaments.

A few months after the Olympic experience, Borman experienced another unforgettable lifetime moment as she married a fellow-All-American thrower Boldi Kocsar, a UCLA grad, whom she met during her first year of college at UCLA, before transferring to Oklahoma. The pair has spent the past year in Norman, Oklahoma as Brittany finished school.

Brittany Borman on Olympic experience & 1st year as pro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jogYsld3fg

With her college eligibility complete a sponsorship contract and support from the New York Athletic Club, Borman was now a professional. She didn’t have to travel each week with a team and do her best in the javelin and discus to score points for her squad. Having once been a successful heptathlete, who gave up seven events for two throwing events, Borman was now down to focusing on just one, the javelin.

The goal in 2013 would be to keep improving, and specifically meet the World Championships (Moscow, Russia) qualifying standard, which had increased from the London Games. Also, another US title in Des, Moines, IA. where she captured her two NCAA crowns also was on the list.

So far, so good. Borman competed in her first Diamond League meet in New York with a sixth place finish (192-8) at the Adidas Grand Prix and placed 7th (190-4) at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, in late May. A fifth place finish also came at a meet in Tokyo, Japan (188-11).  Borman captured the USA title easily with a season’s best of 60.91m/199-10.  Despite being under the 62 meter World Championships A standard, Borman was the only American woman over the 60 meter B standard, meaning she alone would represent the red, white, and blue.

Borman will compete in the Javelin preliminaries Friday, August 15, at 10:55 a.m. in Moscow, or 1:55 a.m. in The United State’s central time zone. If it goes well, she’ll compete in the finals, Sunday, August 18, at 7:00 a.m. CST. Borman has the 18th best mark of the season among the 27 qualifiers, and will need to meet 61.50m/201-09 to automatically advance to the finals or be in the top 12.