Brian Chaput has stopped falling -- literally.
Last year, even on some of his best throws, the defending NCAA champion would land flat on his face after releasing the javelin.
The event would often make for good pictures and a good laugh for the crowd.
"I occasionally fall on my face on the release," Chaput said. "I have no idea why I do it. It's a technical fault.
"I'm looking to get rid of that eventually, but if it happens, it happens."
But this year, when the javelin leaves his hand, he ends up on his own two feet.
In fact, Chaput just isn't falling anymore at all.
So far this year, he has won every collegiate event in which he has competed. And Chaput isn't just winning, he's dominating. He constantly sets new collegiate marks.
People call him the best athlete at Penn. He is the best collegiate athlete in the country in his event.
"He's got an amazing gift," Penn men's track coach Charlie Powell said of his star athlete.
Chaput didn't find out he had that gift until his junior year of high school. Before that, he was a long-distance runner.
Then, in his junior season, a friend took him around the track to look at other events.
"He's like come here, try the javelin," Chaput explained. "I tried the javelin first time and, he was pretty impressed. It might have been good enough to go All-American that year, so I stuck with that and quit the long distance."
And, it's safe to say, that it was a good decision.
After high school, Chaput had an impressive list of colleges pursuing him. The leaders were Stanford, Penn, UConn and Yale, located just a short drive away for the East Haven, Conn., resident.
Penn, however, was the right fit for Chaput.
"Penn was the best deal for me, academically and athletically," he said. "I really liked the guys on the team and the coaches."
Right now Chaput is the defending champion at the IC4A Championships, Penn Relays, Heptagonals, NCAA East Regionals and the NCAA National Championships. And that was all in his junior season.
His senior season has just begun. It will culminate with the trials for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
It's not easy to be that good at anything, but Chaput is well-prepared.
He has all the intangibles and the tangibles that are necessary to be a top-notch athlete.
"I've never met a javelin thrower so genetically and mentally gifted," Chaput's javelin coach, John Henry, said.
Henry is a man who has taught some of the best javelin throwers in the world, including a former U.S. champion. He thinks Chaput has what it takes to be a national champion on the professional level.
Most importantly, Chaput has the work ethic.
"He works very, very hard to establish himself as a key player," Powell said.
Powell also believes that it's not very hard to explain Chaput's success. "He's someone who knows he wants to be good," he said.
Henry echoed Powell's sentiments.
"Brian just exudes confidence because when he goes into a meet he knows he's prepared himself the best he possibly could."
Chaput agrees that "it takes dedication, working hard and really just trying to maintain the drive to achieve."
Chaput certainly has the drive to succeed.
"He not only physically trains every day, but he also puts in the time with javelin videos, and he reads books on peak performance and mental training," Henry said.
That, combined with one of the fastest arms in the world, makes a champion.
"He's a physical specimen," Henry said. "Genetically, Brian is so gifted; he can run, he can jump and his arm is just so fast, so much faster than other people."
Chaput's mental game is also amazing.
"To teach Brian is difficult because he's always looking for that deeper level," Henry said. "He's so intelligent and has such a physical intelligence; people are gifted athletes and students, Brian is a student of his event.
"He has a great sense of athletic awareness. He's so intelligent he really thinks about what he's doing."
For Chaput, the Penn Relays has added importance. Outside of being one of the biggest meets in the country, Chaput will be representing his school at its home.
"It's an honor to compete at" the Penn Relays," Chaput said. The three-day event is "a good experience, a good start to the championship season."
For Chaput, the Relays have also marked his career path. The first meet he placed at was the Penn Relays in 2002; he hurt his elbow at the Penn Relays his sophomore year, before winning the javelin event in his junior year.
"Penn Relays is a huge deal for the University in general," he said. "It gives people a reason to go out and see track and field."
This weekend will be a time for Chaput to show a lot of people just how good he is. If he throws the way he has been throwing, he should win his second straight Penn Relays in front of the hometown audience.
"It will be a good competition," he said.
But the real competition for Chaput will be the upcoming Olympic trials.
"I go into every meet like it's a practice for the Olympic trials," he said.
Earning a spot on the Olympic team would accomplish one of Chaput's biggest dreams.
"To compete in the Olympics would be amazing," he said. "It would be an honor to do it as a recent graduate of Penn, I'd get to honor my school, my country and my hometown."
Chaput is one of four or five men competing for three Olympic spots, and he said his chances are "pretty good," if he can put a few things together.
"I haven't been able to put it together just yet, but I'm pretty confident I'll be able to peak at the right time," he said.
According to Henry, if things work out, Chaput should make it to the Olympics.
"I think Brian is one of the top three javelin throwers in America," he said. "He can be one of the best."
But it's not only individual success that means a lot to Chaput. His best moment as an athlete came when Penn was able to come together at the end of the season and beat Princeton at Heptagonals two years ago to clinch the Ivy League title.
"To have everybody come together and gel at the end, it's amazing," Chaput said.
"Team success is important," he added. "Especially when you have guys competing with you who you're working out with all year."
This year, Chaput has been on a tear, winning a number of distinguished meets.
Twice in 2004 Chaput has been named the United States Track Coaches Association Athlete of the Week. The first came on March 23, and the second came on April 13 for his winning performance in the Spec Town Invitational hosted by the University of Georgia.
Chaput has distinguished himself as an athlete who is also a dedicated student. He is an Academic All-American who takes pride in his work in the classroom.
He's double majoring in Communications and Psychology.
"Guys like Brian Chaput have proved that you can be a national champion and outstanding in the classroom," Powell said.
The key to Chaput's success, according to himself and his coaches, is time management and living a healthy lifestyle.
"It's really about time management," Chaput said. "Prioritizing track and school, my social life isn't as good, but it's OK."
"He's learned how to eat, sleep and mentally prepare," Henry said. "His innate motivation to succeed makes him a special athlete and a special person."
Powell also commended his routine.
"He's good at staying on track in terms of maintaining the lifestyle, making sure his training is going well, his sleep is going well, his studies are always done, so that he's never running last minute, he's always well-prepared."
That preparation, combined with an insatiable desire to succeed, has marked Chaput as a model of the Penn program.
"It means a lot to us, we always tell guys that you can be successful in every part of your life and Brian certainly proves that," Powell said. "It's kind of been confirmation and proof to us that things are going well."
Things are certainly going well for Brian Chaput. If you believe what the people close to him think, watch for him to be standing on an Olympic medal podium someday.
