Blutreich will oversee all throwers on the U.S. men's team at the 14th IAAF World Outdoor Championships
Feb. 15, 2013
NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma track and field assistant coach Brian Blutreich has been named the men’s assistant coach for Team USA at the 14th IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Moscow, Russia, August 10-18, 2013, USA Track & Field announced from its Indianapolis, Ind., headquarters. Blutreich will oversee all aspect of the throws competitors for Team USA while in Moscow.
Team USA recorded its second-highest medal total in 2011 at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea, racking up 25 medals. The U.S. maintained its status as the world’s No. 1 track & field team by placing atop the medal count for most medals overall and most golds with 12.
“Having competed at the highest level in the Olympic Games was a huge accomplishment as an athlete, and now being able to be on the other side as a coach, is something I have always wanted to do since I got into coaching,” expressed Blutreich.
“It’s definitely an honor, to be named an assistant coach and represent Team USA in a different role.”
Blutreich will oversee all throwers on the men’s team and will be joined by USA Men’s and Florida head coach Mike Holloway along with assistant coaches: Curtis Frye (sprints/hurdles, South Carolina), Stephen Cooksey (jumps/combined events, Navy) and Troy Engle (distance, Army).
“My goal is to make it easier for the athletes that are going to be making the trip,” continued Blutreich. “There are going to be a lot of new things that some of them have never experienced, and I want to make it as smooth of a transition as possible.”
It is the second USA Track and Field coaching appointment for the 2004 and 2007 National Assistant Coach of the Year, as he was previously an assistant coach in charge of throws on the 2002 Team USA IAAF/Coca Cola World Jr. Championships track and field team that competed in Kingston, Jamaica.
Additionally, it is the first time any coach from the Oklahoma track and field program has been appointed to the Team USA coaching staff.
“There have been a lot of firsts for us, and this is one them; especially with the throws program,” explained Blutreich. “With the ladies making the Olympic team last year and winning NCAA’s – it’s just the next step for us.”
“The experience will be more than just working with the top U.S. athletes,” he went on to explain. “It’ll be watching the different international athletes train and seeing things done at a much higher level than here at the college level.”
A former Olympic discus thrower, Blutreich has coached five Olympians, and is in his sixth season at the University of Oklahoma overseeing events in the throws area. With five full seasons under his belt at OU, Blutreich has coached four national champions (Tia Brooks, 2012 indoor and outdoor shot put; Brittany Borman, 2011 and 2012 javelin), 22 All Americans, 16 Big 12 Champions and five NCAA runner-up finishers.
In the 2012 London Olympics two Blutreich-coached athletes, Tia Brooks and Brittany Borman, took to the world stage representing the Red, White and Blue. En route to the Games, Borman punched her ticket to London at the U.S. Olympic Trials with the best javelin performance of all-time for U.S. women at the event with a 61.51m/201.9 throw.
“When you’re coaching your own athletes it’s a little bit different. On the world stage the process is different,” expressed Blutreich. “There are many more logistics and in my role as a coach, I will need to be a lot more diverse in my thinking. I’ll need to cater to the individual needs of each athlete.”
“I’m really looking forward to the whole experience.”
2013 IAAF World Championships Coaching Staff
Men’s Staff
Head Coach – Mike Holloway
Assistant Coach – Sprints/Hurdles – Curtis Frye
Assistant Coach – Jumps/Combined – Stephen Cooksey
Assistant Coach – Throws – Brian Blutreich
Assistant Coach – Distance – Troy Engle
Head Manager – Jack Warner
Women’s Staff
Head Coach – Beth Alford-Sullivan
Assistant Coach – Sprints/Hurdles – Latanya Sheffield
Assistant Coach – Jumps/Combined – Delethea Quarles
Assistant Coach – Throws – Lance Deal
Assistant Coach – Distance – Juli Benson
Head Manager – Francesca Green
