EUGENE, Ore. — One Georgia athlete who overcame adversity by embracing a new passion is heading to Paris this summer for the Olympics.
Daniel Haugh qualified on Sunday after finishing first in the men's hammer throw during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials in Oregon.
His throw of 79.51 meters cleared the second-place distance by more than half a meter. It was also his best distance since setting a personal best of 80.18 meters in 2022, when he won gold at the U.S. Outdoor Championships.
Haugh is an Olympian who competed in 2021 in Tokyo. He's also an NCAA Champion who set a new world record earlier this year at the USA Track and Field Indoor Championships.
The 29-year-old finished 12th at the Tokyo Olympics and sixth last year at the World Championships.
But this athlete's path to Olympic glory was paved with the shattered dreams of a promising football career. 11Alive previously spoke to Haugh, who said that football was his first love.
However, after a severe concussion halted that dream, he took up track and field -- finding a new passion and a second chance for an athletic career.
"That's something you know, you always dream of as a kid. You know that's the end goal," Haugh said earlier this year of his hopes for a medal in Paris.
