With two national titles to her credit, Kara Patterson has evolved into the queen of American javelin throwing.
And the Skyview High School graduate is perfectly comfortable wearing the crown.
“I would say it doesn’t change my focus so much as it intensifies my desire to win,” Patterson said, looking ahead to this weekend’s U.S. Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
“It makes me happy but also hungry for more. It’s important for me for America to be put on the map in javelin throwing.”
That will take some doing. Patterson has been the top-ranked American thrower the past two years, but has stood 23rd and eighth in the world standings.
So Patterson’s next step in establishing herself on the world stage comes with the defense of her national championship. The first title came at the 2008 Olympic Trials, earning Patterson a trip to the Beijing Games. The second came last year, garnering her a berth to the World Championships.
This is an off year in track and field, meaning that there are no Olympics or World Championships at stake. But when Patterson competes Friday evening in the meet at Drake University, she can further cement her status as the United States’ preeminent female thrower.
Patterson, 24, enters nationals as the No. 1 seed, with a mark of 202 feet, 9 inches in April at the Drake Relays. That puts her more than five feet ahead of No. 2 qualifier Rachel Yurkovich.
Kim Kreiner, a four-time national champion and the American record holder, will miss the meet because of injuries.
“It will feel a little empty this year,” Patterson said. “It’s disappointing that Kim won’t be there.”
That puts Patterson in a different situation than she faced two years ago, when she was a Purdue University student as she competed for an Olympic berth. Now, she’s a professional, training in the San Diego area and working under a contract with Asics that extends through the 2012 Olympics.
“I have different goals now than I did then as far as distance,” Patterson said. “I kind of set a goal for myself to have most of my meets over 61 meters.”
That converts to roughly 200 feet. Considering that Patterson is the only American to reach that distance in the past three years, a 61-meter throw likely would be enough for another championship.
Following the national meet, Patterson is scheduled to compete July 3 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, and July 5 at the Harry Jerome Classic in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Then she will head to Europe for the season, continuing the evolution of a javelin thrower trying to move from the national stage to the world stage.
“I feel a little leaner, stronger and more technically sound,” she said of her development. “I’m so much more confident standing on the runway.”
Sounds like somebody who is comfortable wearing the crown.
