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OREM — Throwing the javelin wasn't something Kelsi Oldroyd thought she'd ever do, yet last month she qualified for the Olympic trials, shocking no one.
Oldroyd, a 20-year-old junior at Utah Valley University, grew up in Cedar City playing basketball, soccer and softball with her older sisters. She fully intended to continue in those endeavors until her junior year in high school when she was asked to try track and field.
Cedar High School coach Dan Jewkes said there was just something different about Oldroyd from the get-go.
"Kelsi ended up running track as a referral through her middle school P.E. teacher," Jewkes recalled. "It was obvious from the very first second we saw her that if we could get her to compete in a meet or two, she was going to college for this. Her first meet was extraordinary — she wasn't even throwing javelin at this point, she was just doing the long jump and ended up winning the meet.
"I remember watching her do a backflip right next to the long jump pit, and I was like, 'Well, that's a different type of athlete right there.'"
That first season didn't last long because it was 2020, which was the year schools were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even with a shortened first season, with just one jump under her belt, Oldroyd jumped far enough to be noticed by the head coach at Utah Valley University, who offered her a scholarship.
Oldroyd took that newfound success and confidence into her senior year, adding sprinting and throwing to her arsenal of events.
Jewkes explained that Oldroyd's athleticism was a coach's dream because she could be placed in different events to score points for the team. He expressed appreciation for her willingness to try new things.
"We needed to get her to do other things … to get more points as a team, and Kelsi could do the high jump, long jump, 100-meter, 200-meter, shot put and javelin exceptionally well," he said.
During her senior year, Oldroyd posted marks among the best in the state, including a 18:00.5 in the long jump, and a 142:11 in the javelin, winning the prestigious BYU track meet outright. And while the marks in the long jump initially caught the eye of college coaches — it was her javelin throw that solidified their excitement.
Utah Valley javelin coach Jill Williams, who is also a former American record-holder and two-time Olympian in the shot put, talked about when she first heard of Oldroyd, following that meet at BYU.
"One of my first years coaching at UVU, I was talking to our sprints coach one day and he's like, 'Hey, this girl that I just recruited for the long jump just threw over 140 feet in the javelin!' I was like, 'What?' And he was like, 'Yeah, it was like her first time!'" Williams recalled. "Kelsi came in as a sprinter and a jumper, but has really excelled in the javelin."
The rest really is just history in the making because, in the nearly three years of competing in college, Oldroyd has shown what her coaches say is really just how much potential she really has. And that's why none of them were surprised when the young athlete qualified for the Olympic trials.
"I've been around athletes for a long time now and,when I learned that Kelsi qualified, I wasn't surprised because that's exactly what I expected her to do," Jewkes said.
The qualifying standard for the javelin is 54 meters, which is 177 feet, and Oldroyd threw 54.34 meters at the Mount Sac Relays in Walnut, California, besting the qualifier by 3 inches. This mark leads the Western Athletic Conference, landing her ninth in the West and 10th, nationally. Her college coach said the sky really is the limit for the budding track athlete.
"She's just one of those natural athletes who has the strength, power and explosiveness, and is just really easy to work with and can make changes really quickly," Williams said. "She threw 56 meters at a nonqualifying meet, so we knew that there was a good chance she was going to make it and … she hit the mark."
Her coaches may not have been surprised, but Oldroyd says she's still in disbelief.
I remember watching her do a backflip right next to the long jump pit, and I was like, 'Well, that's a different type of athlete right there.'
–Dan Jewkes
"It was definitely a lot of unbelief — like disbelief," Oldroyd told KSL.com. "I had to convince myself that it was real for the first couple of hours after finding out. I, of course, called my parents right after I found out to let them know, and my dad was ecstatic — he could not believe it. He had to tell everyone. He was so proud. It made me so happy.
"I just kind of had to step back and take a breather because I was just like, 'Oh, my goodness! How did we get here? I was only playing softball just a couple of years ago and had never touched a javelin.'"
However Oldroyd got where she is today, she said she is just enjoying where she's at and is grateful for the many people who have helped her along the way.
The Olympic trials will be held on June 28 in Eugene, Oregon. The top 12 from the qualifying round will advance to the final on June 30.
