Lance Brooks (born January 1, 1984) is an American national champion

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

er who also competed in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Early life

Brooks was born January 1, 1984, in

New Berlin, Illinois New Berlin () is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,346 at the 2010 census, and 1,327 at a 2018 estimate. It is part of the Springfield metropolitan area, Illinois, Springfield Me ...

. At birth, he weighed and was long, making him an exceptionally large baby. He first participated in competitive sports during fourth grade, playing basketball at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

. At the time, the school didn't have a

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

team. In eighth grade, his parents successfully petitioned the school board to allow Brooks to be a one-person team. The next year, 50 students joined the team. Brooks attended New Berlin High School, where he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and basketball. He participated in several track and field events, excelling at discus. He won the event at almost every meet and was the state discus champion his senior year. Throughout his school years, Brooks was very active in

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts or Boy Scout may refer to: * Members, sections or organisations in the Scouting Movement ** Scout (Scouting), a boy or a girl participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America ...

, achieving the rank of

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

. After graduation, Brooks attended

Millikin University Millikin University is a private university in Decatur, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Millikin was initially esta ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in Environmental Science in 2006. During college, he played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and did

. He set a school record in discus ( but did not consider seriously competing in the sport. Brooks was an NCAA Division III

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

during his stay at Millikin.

Athletic career

After college, Brooks moved to

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

to train and teach track and field at the high school level. He went to graduate school at

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

for one semester. He qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials, but did not make the team. In 2009, Brooks finished fourth in discus at the US Outdoor Championships, narrowly missing qualifying for World's. In 2010, he set a new personal best, throwing 64.79 meters, and finished the year ranked number 24 in the world. At the 2011, National Outdoor Championships, Brooks placed third in the discus with a score of . The score, which he achieve on his final throw, was good enough to qualify him for 2011 World Championships. At the World's, he finished 13th. For the year, he was ranked number 38 in the world at the discus. At the 2012 Olympic Trials, led all six rounds of the competition throwing over of each of his first three throws. However, he had not met the "A" Standard required to make the Olympic team in any previous event, and thus was in danger of winning the event but failing to qualify for the Olympics. On his final throw, he achieved a distance of , winning the event with a new personal best and meeting the required standard of 65 meters. On his last throw, Brooks remarked: "I knew I had to calm down on my last throw. I just kind of took a minute and relaxed and tried not to tense up because that's what ruined my fourth and fifth throws n which he fouled I knew I could throw it, it was just a matter of getting through it." The entire competition was held in the rain, inhibiting the competitor's throwing ability. At the Olympics, Brooks threw the discus on his first attempt. His next two throws were slightly shorter, leaving Brooks in 21st place among 42 competitors after the three qualification round throws. Since only the top twelve advance to the finals, Brooks competition was over. His coach, Steve DeAutremont, said Brooks' technique was slightly off: "I think he was a little rushed out of the back f the throwing ring He finish wasn’t quite as smooth. All those little things can add up." Brooks agreed and said "I'm somewhat happy with how I did". Brooks is coached by Steve DeAutremont and sponsored by

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. Lance Brooks also volunteers his coaching to High School Athletes. He recently gave an exhibition training event at the High School track meet in Grand Junction Colorado after coaching a promising Ridgway High School thrower.

Personal life

Brooks currently lives in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

he was a throws coach at Cherry Creek High School for 2 seasons (shot put and discus. After making the 2012 Olympic team he returned to his job in construction pouring concrete. "It's probably not the ideal job to have as an athlete", he told a reporter, "but it pays the bills and you've got to do what you've got to do." Lance still actively searches for his ideal career in the Energy and Oil and Gas industries hoping to one day find that steady income and career.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Lance 1984 births Living people American male discus throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Millikin Big Blue men's track and field athletes Millikin Big Blue men's basketball players 21st-century American sportsmen