Hammer thrower realizing dream
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Track and field's hammer throw has to be ranked near the top of Olympic "brute strength" events. To wit: barrel-chested athletes clasp hold of a four-foot long cable attached to a weighted iron ball called a hammer — then whirl like dervishes before flinging the hammer more than 250 feet down field.
A powerful man's (and woman's) sport indeed.
"But the hammer throw is (also) a finesse sport," counters James B. Parker, father of U.S. Olympian James D. Parker. "Your balance and rotation has to be absolutely perfect."
A national champion/returned missionary/Air Force officer, Brother Parker's life seems defined by balance. Young James was an all-state football player at Utah's Northridge High School — but chose an athletic career in the more deliberate world of track and field.
He earned All-America honors in the hammer throw his freshman year at Utah State University — yet spent two years removed from the rigors of physical training to serve a mission in Brazil, learning to love a foreign people and language.
A bear of a man, he is unabashedly emotional when he speaks of competing in Athens.
"I've been at this for 10 years, and this is just a dream come true," he told the Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune. "Of course, I've always watched the Olympics and the opening ceremonies. You know, tears kind of leak out of your eyes. So to be representing the United States and the United States Air Force there, it's just awesome."
The son of a military man, Brother Parker joined the Air Force when his nine-time All-American career ended at Utah State. He and his wife, Kami, are the parents of a 14-month-old son, James W. Parker. The Parkers are stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana where Brother Parker works as a service officer and participates in the military's World Class Athlete Program.
Brother Parker, 28, became the American to beat last year after he won the silver medal at the Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic. He went on to claim top honors at the July 12 U.S. Olympic qualifying meet in Sacramento, Calif., where he tossed the hammer 254 feet and six inches.
Currently ranked 14th in the world, Brother Parker hopes he can be among the top 12 hammer throwers after the qualifying round and advance to the finals.
E-mail to: jswensen@desnews.com
