Brian Chaput is tantalizingly close to going to Athens.
The former Penn javelin thrower finished second in Sunday's final round of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, putting him in position to make the U.S. team, but did not reach the international "A" standard of 81.80 meters, or 268 feet 4 inches, and thus has not yet officially qualified for the Games.
Chaput has until August 9 to reach that mark. Only Breaux Greer met the mark at the trials, which took place at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, Calif.
"It was an incredible week,"Chaput said of his trip. "It was everything we've trained for all year and it bought me a little more time to make the team."
In the final round, the competition was judged on each athlete's best throw out of six.
Each of the first four throws for Chaput, who officially represented Penn, traveled between 72 and 73 meters.
The fifth throw traveled 79.81 meters, or 261 feet 10 inches, and the sixth traveled 75.56 meters, or 247 feet 11 inches.
Greer threw there times and all three throws surpassed 81 meters.
The first traveled 82.39 meters, the second 81.37, and the third 82.16. Greer passed on his final three throws.
The University of Tennessee's Leigh Smith finished in third place, also good enough for a spot on the team, but like Chaput, did not reach the "A" standard either.
Smith had throws of 64.69, 76.38, and 73.90 meters, and committed fouls on his other three throws.
Like Chaput, Smith has until August 9 to make a throw that reaches the "A" standard.
If neither of the two do so, Greer will be the only American in the Olympic javelin competition.
Chaput acknowledged that he went into the tournament fully expecting to do as well as he did.
"You go into every meet trying to win," he said.
He described Greer as "pretty much one of the best in the world, so I knew winning the meet would be a stretch, but I was definitely expecting top three."
Chaput's first opportunity to hit the qualification mark will come on Saturday at the Javelin Festival at Yale University.
The Festival is a gathering of many of the top men's and women's javelin throwers in the country, including a few of Chaput's competitors from last weekend.
As Chaput is a native of East Haven, Conn., which is close to the Yale campus in New Haven, he will more than likely have a large cheering contingent on hand to watch him.
"To go home and have the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics right outside my backyard is incredible," he said. "It would just be storybook to do that."
Chaput said that he is working on a "meet to meet" basis, and fully expects to reach the mark this weekend.
Should it not happen, however, he will likely head to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., where there will likely be some smaller meets at which other prospective Olympians in similar situations can qualify for Athens.
"You can compete as much as your body allows you to," Chaput said. "That would be the most likely scenario were I not to hit it this weekend."
Chaput did rule out going to Europe to compete as an option, despite there being a few high-profile meets between now and the deadline.
"Europe is pretty much a last resort for me," he said. "At this point it makes the most sense to stay in the States."
Regardless of where he goes over the next few weeks, one thing is for sure- a lot of eyes will be watching him.
