For Brian Chaput, this summer hurt in more ways than one.
The 2004 Penn graduate arrived at Yale's Summer Javelin Festival, which took place in New Haven, Conn., this past July, ready to heave his way to the Olympics.
His family and friends had made the short drive from his hometown, East Haven, to watch what everyone expected to be a great triumph.
Chaput's hamstring, however, had other ideas.
After the best of his first three throws traveled only 71.10 meters, well short of the Olympic "A" standard of 81.80 meters, Chaput pulled his hamstring just as the spear was leaving his hand on his fourth throw.
"Unfortunately, it didn't turn out exactly as I would have hoped," he said in an interview after returning from Yale.
Chaput was left with two opportunities to qualify for Athens, in the form of two meets at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
"It's hard to tell how serious [the injury] is right now," he said after the Yale meet. "I'm hoping it's just minor, so more than likely, either way I'm flying out to California on Saturday."
"I'm going to have to listen to my body and see how my body feels. If I can get the hamstring back to 90 percent, I'm going to give it a go."
Unfortunately for Chaput, the competition at Chula Vista was no less frustrating than was the earlier Yale meet.
Competing with other American track and field athletes in a last-ditch effort to make the Olympic standard, Chaput reinjured his hamstring on the first day of trials and fell short of the all-important 81.80 meter mark, ending his Olympic dreams.
Chaput had finished second to Breaux Greer at the Olympic qualifiers in Sacramento, followed by the University of Tennessee's Leigh Smith and two-time Olympian Tom Pukstys. Only Greer made the "A" standard.
The Olympic javelin events did not take place until August 23 and 25. But Chaput said before the Chula Vista meet that he would have to be in Athens for the opening ceremonies on Friday, Aug. 13, a prospect that he was excited about.
"If I were to make the Olympic team, I'd pretty much have to leave right away," he said at the time.
This final disappointment does not in any way tarnish Chaput's esteemed place in the history of Penn track and field.
Although Chaput's athletic career at Penn is over, the stream of accolades heading his way has not stopped. Chaput recently received the 2004 Men's Scholar Athlete of the Year Award for NCAA Division I by the United States Track Coaches Association. Chaput graduated with a degree in Communications and a 3.60 GPA.
