Amy Haapanen takes life meet by meet.
The well-traveled Manteca native trains miles away from her hometown in Ames, Iowa, chasing a dream as a professional athlete.
She competes unattached — without the aid of sponsors such as Nike — and works two part-time jobs to get by. She even helps Iowa State assistant track and field coach John Dagata, who molded her into an NCAA All-American and three-event record-holding athlete at UC Santa Barbara, in whipping his athletes into shape.
But for two weeks she was home in Manteca, working out at alma mater East Union High in preparation for the three-day USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at University of Oregon’s Hayward Field — a hallowed landmark of the sport in the country.
On Sunday, she took one big step toward realizing her ultimate dream of qualifying for the 2012 London Games.
The 2002 East Union graduate finished in sixth place in the hammer throw, with her final toss of 211 feet, 7 inches in the preliminary round proving to be her best. Jessica Cosby won with a mark of 236-04, besting runner-up Amber Campbell (226-01) by more than 10 feet.
Haapanen qualified for the 12th International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in Berlin, set for Aug. 15-23, as one of three alternates.
“My goal was just to make finals, to be in the top eight,” Haapanen said. “To be sixth exceeded my goal, which was exciting.”
Even more exciting was what happened shortly after.
“I went through the procedure of getting Team USA clothes for the first time,” she said. “It was nice knowing what it felt like to even have the possibility of going to the World Championships. It’s one step closer to that goal of being on the world state and making the Olympic team in 2012.”
Sunday was her third time competing at nationals, fourth counting her junior nationals participation as a freshman at UCSB. Her 211-07 was the farthest she has thrown at nationals, but not a personal record.
While training at her old stomping grounds, she ran into East Union head football coach Mike James. James let her work out with his team in the weight room.
“Hey, I gotta show them boys how it’s done,” Haapanen joked.
Little did she know that another former Lancer was training on the same facility for the USA Junior Outdoor Championships, which went on at the same time at Hayward Field.
James informed Haapanen that 2008 graduate Cassandra Woodall, the Bulletin’s All-Area Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year, had been training for junior nationals. The BYU freshman took 20th in the shot put, and 22nd in the hammer throw.
Haapanen made it a point to meet Woodall for the first time this past weekend.
“When I saw her I was like, ‘Hey Lady Lancer!” Haapanen said. “And she was like, ‘Oh, you must be Amy Haapanen.’
“I thought it was awesome to see someone else representing East Union in a throwing event. What’s weird is that we were training at East Union but not at the same time. She saw the holes I was making with the hammer and figured I was there.”
Haapanen is back in Iowa, helping Dagata prep summer workouts for his throwers. Even if she can’t compete at the World Championships, she’d like to compete in European events leading up to it.
“It’s a big commitment for us throwers, because it’s not a glorious event like the sprints,” she said. “Ninety-eight percent of the time we’re competing in facilities outside the stadium, so people don’t know what’s going on.
“You just do it for the love of the sport and competition, and I’m just trying to achieve my dream. You have to make your own way in what we do.
“I’d like to start competing internationally. It’s a lot of money but it’s worth the experience travelling around to see what it’s like to compete in other locations and just see the world.”
To contact Jonamar Jacinto, e-mail jjacinto@mantecabulletin.com, or call (209) 249-3538.
