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It’s not often that a woman’s wedding does not shine above all else. But when Brittany Borman says her nuptial vows this weekend, the wedding will at least have to share the stage as the biggest event of her 2012. Borman, a 2008 Festus graduate returns home to Missouri to wed All- America hammer thrower Boldi Kocsor. She already gave him a one-of-a-kind wedding gift by taking him to London when she qualified in the javelin for the recent 2012 Olympic Games. Her performance there – a respectable 194 foot, 5 ½ inch throw for 15th – is merely a footnote in her journeys as an athlete and thrower. Borman won the NCAA national title in the javelin the past two years and was building momentum toward the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. That meet put her on the map in an almost story-book performance. She was sitting in third heading into her final throw with her best throw measuring 188-11. Not only did she need to better her opponents, but she also need to hit the Olympic A-standard distance of 200-1 to earn a berth to London. On her final throw of the trials she unleashed an Olympic Trials record of 201-9. It just happened to be her birthday, too. “That last throw I let everything go,” Borman said. “I said a little prayer before. It felt like every other throw; it didn’t feel like I did anything different.”
“If you hit it right, it’ll go farther, but it’s hard to hit it,” Borman said. “So it’s either really good or really bad. “I can’t tell a difference, but coach (Blutriech) tells me. I think I just try not to think about it.” Once in London, Borman participated in the parade of athletes in the opening ceremony. She said it took them three hours to walk a mile. “When we got inside, it was unbelievable,” Borman said. “It was definitely worth the wait, even if it was hard to see from the track.” She took in some U.S. men’s basketball and cycling in the week leading up the track and field events. After morning practices sessions, she also found time to do some exploring around London. They all proved a useful distraction with a full week to wait before the competition began. “When I was walking into the stadium, it felt bigger than any meet I’ve been a part of,” Borman said. “But once I started warming up it felt like another meet. I felt blessed to have the opportunity to be there. Competing against athletes I’ll see in the future is an experience you can’t replace.” Borman originally enrolled at UCLA, following in the footsteps of her childhood idol Jackie Joyner-Kersee. After one year, she transferred to Oklahoma and began working with coach Brian Blutreich. She had already made the transition from the heptathlon to the throwing events, but the different approach to training, and a more comfortable collegiate environment, allowed Borman to refocus and begin succeeding again. “My heart was set on the heptathlon, but the coach (at UCLA) worked on strength and less running, and we started slowly transitioning,” Borman said. “At OU the training is more like for the hep – circuits, running hills, gymnastics – and I think I like doing the workouts more than the actual heptathlon. “I enjoyed (UCLA) and learned a lot, but it was hard to train and go to school. There are a lot of distractions. Norman is lot more like home for me.” Borman signed with Nike this summer, and she is working on her final year of school in health and exercise science. Kocsor, who spent time coaching at San Diego State after his collegiate career, is now in pharmaceutical sales. Kocsor made the trip to London along with Brittany’s parents, sisters Breanne and Danielle, and longtime coach Vince Bingham. Bingham has had several former Missouri Baptist athletes qualify for the Olympics, but Borman is his first American athlete. She’s also the first that he coached from the beginning. Bingham knew Brittany’s mom Laura from college and has been part of the Borman family since Brittany was 6 years old. Bingham was able to make the trip to London because of the Bormans and his longtime relationship with Jim Jennings, his childhood friend who initially introduced Bingham to track and the Jefferson County Jets track club. Following his athletic career, Jennings went to work for Nike, and he has helped the Jets and numerous athletes over the years. Bingham almost went with Jennings to the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, but he was committed to his club team and took them to the Jr. Olympics in Houston instead. The trip to London was the pinnacle, and it was made even more special because it was with an athlete he has known forever. “Jimmy and the Bormans made a dream come true,” Bingham said. “If the world ended today, I’d be happy and Brittany gave me that happiness.” Borman will remain in Norman while she finishes school and plans to resume her training in about a month. As a professional, Borman will begin competing again in April and has targeted handful of international meets.
And in four more years? “I’d love to be at the Olympics again in four years,” Borman said. “It was amazing just being there and part of the atmosphere and seeing athletes from all over the world and competing against them.” |
Borman said she had been building toward the Trials by working to on being quicker all the way through and hitting her plant foot without stopping her momentum. She also used a stiffer javelin for the Trials, one that her coach’s wife, Lynda Lipson-Blutreich, used to go to the Sydney Olympics in 2000.