Central Coast athletes hope to qualify for 2016 Olympics

Hartnell College was packed Sunday with athletes looking to qualify for the Olympics in track and field.

The day started out strong with about 50 contestants from as far as Germany came out to participate in the Pat Young Throwers Classic. The big throwers meet included events for hammer, discus, shot rings, and javelin.

“It’s definitely a job, you have to work day in day out, you don’t have a break, it runs all season long,” assistant track and field coach Brian Vazquez said.

Vazquez said the top two athletes in each event are Olympic hopefuls. 19 year-old hammer thrower, Charles Samms of Aptos is one of those hopefuls. Samms holds the record at Hartnell for furthest hammer throw with a distance of 174 feet. Samms said he still has a ways to go for the Olympics.

“I mean I feel I can do this. But I mean it’s just it’s more training, it’s more summers in the weight room all day training, it’s just it’s a life style,” said Samms.

In order to qualify for the Olympics the athletes have to throw the 16 pound hammer well over 200 feet. To get to that distance coach Vazquez said the athletes have to eat, sleep and breathe the sport. Samms does that, and has the battle wounds to prove it. He hit his head and was out of training for a week. But that didn’t stop him or his support group from coming out Sunday.

“As long as he stays focused, his coach is a great guy and Dustin really respects him so there is no reason why he can’t go all the way,” Samms grandma Judy Yednak said.

No matter the event the athletes are training with the same goal.

“I’m hoping to, I want to go medal in 2020 in Tokyo. So that’s my ultimate goal,” Samms said.

Coach Vazquez said after Sunday’s results, the most promising candidate for the 2016 Olympics is Rugger Smith. Smith threw the discus 62 meters. The standard Olympic games entry standard for men’s discus is 66 meters.