Willems Qualifies For U.S. Olympic Trials
Willems Qualifies For U.S. Olympic Trials
OSHKOSH, Wis.- Davian Willems, who owns UW-Oshkosh men's track & field's indoor 60-meter and outdoor 100-meter dash records, will compete for a spot on the United States' Olympic Team at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.
Willems (So. • De Pere) claimed two All-America national runner-up medals during the 2023-24 track & field season and set the indoor 60-meter dash record at 6.71 seconds on March 9 at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championship and the 100-meter dash record at 10.14 seconds during the UW-La Crosse Eagle Open on May 10.
Willems will race in Round 1 of the 100-meter dash on Saturday, June 22, at 6:22 p.m. Pacific Time (8:22 p.m. CT).
Of the 34 declared entries to the trials, Willems is one of only two athletes that competes at the NCAA Division III level. He is joined by fellow WIAC student-athlete Sam Blaskowski of UW-La Crosse. The top-three finishers on the event will earn a spot on the United States Olympic Team.
"We are beyond excited to see Davian earn his way into the Olympic Trails", said head track & field coach Justin Kinseth on Friday. "Having dealt with hamstring injuries the past two seasons, Davian was finally able to showcase his true potential this season. This is a monumental occasion for the UWO track & field program as our sprints squad has been shattering the record board these past few years. To qualify for the trials as such a young age only shows how much more Davian has left in store".
UW-Oshkosh has sent four Titans to the Olympics, most recently Michael McPhail in 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics for the Rifle – 50 Meter Prone. Melissa Mueller pole vaulted in the 2000 Summer Olympics and Allison (Darragh) Pottinger was on the women's curling team at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. Rodney Figueroa was UW-Oshkosh's first Olympian, competing for Puerto Rico as a freestyle wrestler at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
The 2024 Olympics will be held in Paris, France from July 26-Aug. 11 and are the 33rd edition of the modern quadrennial games. 329 events will occur in 32 sports and about 10,500 athletes will represent the best of 206 countries from around the world. Track & field events will compete at Stade de France, an 80,698-seat stadium that was originally built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
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