Worthington — With a Lowe’s glove on her hand and the weight of unfinished business on her shoulders, Thomas Worthington thrower Jenna Olsen stepped into the ring, ready for the biggest throws of her career.
A dream that, truthfully, hadn’t always been in sight. When Olsen pursued weight throwing three years ago, she couldn’t have predicted this moment, and neither could her family. “My dad actually said that this wasn’t a good idea,” she shared. “He was sure I was going to hurt myself, but my first throw was 27 feet.”
From that moment, the path was set. What started as an uncertain experiment quickly transformed into a passion, one that had now led her to the biggest stage of her career.
Olsen had been at the indoor state championships before. Each time, she had left in tears of heartbreak. “The past four years have been so rough,” she admitted. “I just knew one day I would do it and was just waiting for that opportunity.”
A year earlier, that opportunity had slipped away. Battling through a strain and a pinched shoulder, Olsen pushed through the pain, only to find herself buried in 18th place. Looking back, she acknowledges that competing through the injuries might not have been the best decision, but walking away wasn’t an option.
In the offseason, Olsen attacked her training with relentless determination. Both at school and in private sessions, she made her goal clear: winning a state championship.
She pushed her limits, building the endurance and strength needed to dominate in the ring. Every rep, every throw, every sacrifice was a step toward the moment she had been waiting for.
To maintain her conditioning, Olsen took up tennis in the fall, keeping her footwork sharp and endurance high. When the indoor track season began, the results spoke for themselves. Her weight throw had soared to 49 feet, a nearly seven-foot jump from her junior year.
As the season progressed, so did Olsen’s distances. With each meet, she edged closer to her ultimate goal, entering the state championships with one number in mind: 55 feet. “I told everyone the entire week that I was going to throw 55 feet,” Olsen reflected. “I’m not joking, it is the most insane thing. I even told that to the Marshall head coach on my visit.”
Her confidence radiated her firm belief that all the hard work, the sacrifices, and the setbacks had led her to this very moment.
On state championship day, Olsen was relaxed, confident, and ready to go. Her mindset wasn’t tense: She simply wanted to have fun. She won the state championship handily, blowing her goal out of the water and breaking her own school record with a 55-foot, 7.5-inch throw. For once, Olsen’s tears weren’t of heartbreak, but of triumph, as she had finally realized the dream she had worked so tirelessly to achieve.
“I saw all the stress come out of my body and I threw my 55-foot goal,” she reflected. “I just instantly started sobbing and my parents started crying. It honestly felt amazing and a reminder that working hard will pay off one day.”
From a multi-sport athlete to taking a chance on track and field, Olsen’s unconventional path to becoming a state champion is a testament to the idea that there’s no one-size-fits-all journey to success. Her story proves that sometimes, taking a leap of faith and embracing unexpected opportunities can lead to the most rewarding outcomes.
With the spring outdoor season now underway, Olsen is shifting her focus to discus. Her goal: to break the current outdoor discus record at Thomas Worthington, which stands at 127 feet, nine inches. With her personal best already at 123 feet, three inches, Olsen is confident that breaking the record is within reach from the very start.
“I’m hoping to get that this year and hopefully at the first meet,” Olsen said. “It would be great to just get it out of the way, and then I can just push it further and further.”
Olsen believes that everyone should give the field events in track and field a try, emphasizing that these events deserve more recognition than they currently receive. She feels that the hard work and dedication required for these events often go unnoticed, and she hopes to inspire others to appreciate the field events just as much as the sprints and relays.
“I feel like most of the attention goes to the runners, which isn’t a bad thing, but let’s not forget about the field events,” she expressed. “Field isn’t talked about in the media very much, but we work just as hard as student-athletes as anyone else does.”
Jenna Olsen is a school record holder, a state champion, a field legend at Thomas Worthington, and an advocate for her sport. She is also now a college commit, verbally committing to Division I Marshall University in West Virginia in early March.
To Olsen, everything is exactly what she wants at Marshall, “Marshall just really clicked and it is only two and a half hours away,” she said. “I wanted to be out of Ohio, so this is a perfect medium. I just really see it as a home and a place where I am going to succeed.”
For those following in Jenna Olsen’s footsteps, the message is clear: greatness is earned, one throw at a time. Her journey serves as a powerful reminder that with hard work, belief in yourself, and a willingness to embrace challenges, anything is possible.
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