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	Olympic Central
	Visit Olympic Central for complete coverage of the Sooners in London and print/download the calendar so you don't miss any of the action: Olympic Central | Calendar | NBC
	Follow Borman
	Brittany Borman Olympic Bio | Borman_Track 1st at 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials 2011 and 2012 NCAA champion Four career All-America honors
	History & Tradition
	38 National Champions 386 All-Americans 18 Olympians All-Time T&F History & Tradition

NORMAN, Okla. -- The best gift Brittany Borman ever received spent 12 years in a garage collecting dust.

It was painted mostly lavender but wore a neon yellow stripe and a tail that burned cherry red. Stamped from aluminum, it was weighed to precise specifications and molded to soar through the air like a supersonic jet. Its literal value was great; its sentimental value was greater.

It had played a defining role in its owner's past and was now ready to be taken out for another spin.

On her 23rd birthday, Borman gave it the ride of its life.

Road to Oklahoma
Borman was one of the top all-around athletes to come from St. Louis. She won high school state titles in shot put, discus throw and high jump and had taken all-state honors from her freshman to senior years. Her idol was Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the world's best female track and field athlete. Joyner-Kersee used athletics to achieve stardom in the backdrop of Hollywood and Borman followed those footsteps west to Joyner-Kersee's alma mater of UCLA.

"I got there and it transitioned into just throwing," Borman said. "After a year there, I kind of knew it wasn't the right fit for me so I gave (University of Oklahoma assistant) Coach (Brian) Blutreich a call and he gave me the opportunity to come here."

Borman resigned that her best success would come in throwing events and, with Blutreich's training program, could work out in her preferred style at OU.

"I was set on being a heptathlete. I just liked the running, I like jumping and all of that. His training incorporates all that."

Success came quickly. In her first season as a Sooner, Borman won the discus throw at the Big 12 Championships and was an All-American in the discus and javelin after finishing as the NCAA runner-up in both events. The next year, Borman became the first in Big 12 history to claim both discus and javelin titles and then won the the NCAA title with a javelin throw of 178-2.

For her senior season, a greater goal emerged.

Test Drive
Just as the men's implement was changed over safety concerns in 1986, the women's javelin was redesigned in 1999. The new breed had a blunt tip and the center of gravity was moved forward in order to have it descend at a greater angle and stick in the ground consistently.

Brian's wife, Lynda, was among the first to test drive the new model.

Lynda was a multi-sport high school star in Massachusetts and had won multiple conference championships while at the University of North Carolina. She became one of the top American throwers but had never made the cut as an Olympic qualifier. She and Brian, a former UCLA track star himself, married in 1997 and he became her coach. With plans to soon begin a family, Lynda knew the 2000 season might be her last.

With her Nemeth javelin, it was also her best. Lynda grabbed the American record in 1999 at 187-5 and extended it to 192-3 the next season. At the U.S. Trials, she threw 191-2 for back-to-back national championships. She was the United States' lone participant in javelin at the Sydney Games and placed 11th.

Lynda retired as an Olympian and the javelin became a relic as it disappeared into storage in the Blutreich household.

Ultimate Destination
The Olympic A standard for women's javelin sits at 200 feet, 1 inch. Borman opened her 2012 track and field season with a throw of 194-11 to set OU's program record. Perspectives shifted.

"We knew she was only about five feet away at that point from the Olympic A standard," Blutreich said. "So we pushed her training back ... so she could kind of be fresh and ready to go for the Olympic Trials."

Even with the dream in the back of her mind, Borman decisively swept the Big 12 and NCAA javelin titles. She entered the Olympic Trials as one of the dark horses, qualifying with the fourth best mark among the field. Only the top three finishers with an Olympic A standard would claim a spot on the Olympic roster.

"With Brittany, there were two women with the A standard," Blutreich said, "So she had to get the A standard at the meet to go."

American record holder and four-time defending U.S. champion Kara Patterson took the early lead in the finals with an opening throw of 193-10. Borman held second at 185-3. After three attempts, Patterson jumped to a firm lead at 196-2 and Borman was solidly on the podium in third at 188-11.

"She had been looking good pretty all meet," Blutreich said, "but she was just kind of missing it a little bit. We talked about working on one thing and I actually had her change javelins. The javelin she used was not the one she had been using all year."

It was, in fact, the javelin Lynda won with more than a decade earlier.

"It's all about the stiffness of the javelin; it takes a lot of physical demand. Most throwers need more flexibility. My wife only used it for competitions and it's been sitting in our garage for 12 years now. We brought it out this year because I knew Brittany would have a chance to be able to use it. So we kind of pulled it out and let her rip."

After three attempts, the finals field was cut from to eight and re-ordered so that the final three attempts were taken from eighth to first place. Borman fouled her fourth attempt and failed to improve with her fifth. Still no one had passed her position by her final try.

"I was really nervous about hitting the A standard because I knew that was the only way I would be able to go over to London. So before, I was just praying to stay calm and kind of let God take over and see what happened. It wasn't from me, that's for sure."

With her last gasp, Borman launched the javelin and thought her chances were over. She thought she would celebrate with a bronze medal on her birthday.

"It really didn't feel good," Borman said. "It was one of those things like, `Oh man, I'm done after this meet,' because it felt like 170 feet. It felt really easy."

Except 22,497 voices in the stands at Hayward Field roared.

"I kind of heard the crowd cheer and I was wondering. I was hoping it wasn't 60.99 meters since the A standard is 61."

The numbers flashed and tears rushed from Borman's eyes. The scoreboard read 61.51 meters/201 feet, 9 inches.

The javelin had delivered its second Olympian.