One of the most accomplished throwers in Kansas University track and field history has never competed outside on KU’s campus.
Oh, Scott Russell has practiced plenty of times more than he can remember on the javelin runway outside Memorial Stadium. And the three-time Big 12 champion has thrown the 35-pound weight in indoor meets at Anschutz Pavilion.
But because of Memorial Stadium renovations during his freshman and sophomore seasons, Russell, a 21-year-old KU junior from Ontario, Canada, has never recorded an official mark into the stiff Kansas breeze.
That all changes at the Kansas Relays (April 21-22), and you better believe Russell is enthused.
“It’s really big. We have never had a home meet. It’s going to be fun to have friends and people I know watch me compete,” Russell said.
Russell, a leading candidate to make the Canadian Olympic team in his specialty, the javelin, has heard plenty about the Relays.
“I’ve seen clips and videos in classes of the Relays and how big the crowds used to be,” Russell said. “Guys like Vince Labosky and Ed Kaminski have had some great performances in the past.”
There’s a chance Russell will break KU All-American Labosky’s record (261-3) in the javelin and Kaminski’s Relays-record throw (251-4) during this year’s Relays.
Russell has a personal-best heave of 259-0, set at the Dr. Pepper Invitational on March 18 in Waco, Texas. He needs a throw of 269-0 to qualify automatically for the 2000 Canadian Olympic team.
“I honestly can’t tell you when it would happen,” Russell said of his setting the KU standard. “It’d be a great meet to do it being at home. It’d be a thrill to set the school record.”
Russell is off to an amazing start he placed first in the javelin, discus and hammer at last weekend’s Clemson Invitational after winning the javelin in Waco considering he red-shirted the indoor season.
“I thought I’d be rusty entering outdoor, but I guess I was ready to go once we started,” Russell said.
He rehabilitated his tendinitis-ridden knees during indoor season and also lifted weights and worked on training techniques to help him in his quest to qualify for the Olympics.
“At first it was tough watching our first meet, everybody competing in it and I was out in the field helping measure throws. It was frustrating,” Russell said. “But I knew I needed to take some time off. After last season, I was burned out.
“It was good spending time with our athletic trainer trying to get my knees and shoulders stronger for outdoor season,” Russell added. “Training-wise with coach LaRowe (Lorri, throwing coach), a lot of it was speed work trying to get my legs strengthened to be faster on the runway.
In practice and meets, Russell, a 6-foot-8 1/2, 270-pounder, puts a lot of pressure on his knees.
Russell, who placed third in the javelin at last year’s NCAA Outdoor,hopes to vie for Big 12 and national honors this season. After that, he’ll attend the Canadian Olympic Trials Aug. 11-13 in British Columbia. If he has hit the 269 standard, the Trials are a mere formality. Russell must merely prove to Canadian officials he’s healthy enough to represent the country. If he hasn’t hit 269, he must do so at the Trials.
The Olympics will be held Sept. 20-28 in Sydney, Australia.
“Hopefully my training will allow me to peak at the end of the year and throw my best then,” said Russell, a pre-physical therapy major. “In Canada, they are really strict on where they spend the money. They want you to be able to perform if they are going to send you to the Olympics.”
A team player, Russell has been willing to compete in several events for KU, not just his specialty, the javelin.
“I think I could (specialize). It’s not me,” Russell said. “I love throwing the other events. My goal is for the whole team to win the Big 12 championships.”
Of the Olympics, he noted: “It’s been a big goal of mine since 11th or 12th grade when I saw myself improve rapidly and compete with the best Canadian juniors. Most javelin throwers peak in their early 30s. So if my body holds up, I’m hoping to continue to throw it, definitely into the 2004 Olympics.”