Posts by Kibwe Johnson

Discussion of article Blow It Up:

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Olympic hammer man and a leader in the world of USA track & field, Kibwé Johnson shares his thoughts on the International Association of Athletics Federations' recent decision to suspend the Russia Athletic Federation with immediate effect.

Since the announcement, I have toed the line between outrage at the Russian federation and athletes, to feeling sorry for the athletes involved. Partly because this is something long suspected but I never thought I'd see justice on such a mass scale in my…

Hahaha, well Charlie does meet one requirement of having great genetics. The other is in order to marry my daughter, you must beat me in a throws pentathlon.

For me, I try to compartmentalize my family duties and those of my occupation. It took a while for me to come to the conclusion that I could indeed be both. After my daughter was born, everything changed. It may sound cliché... until you have a kid. Everything from that point forward is for them, so tossing a hammer around seemed a little trivial for a while.

Putting my responsibilities in compartments seemed easier to me than admitting that 100% to one part of my life means I can't put 100% to the other. (I think "compartments" is a fancy word for ignoring for me, ). I was angry with myself for wanting to put my needs first during the 2012 campaign. The Olympic year was very different than last years injury ravaged season. I was training extremely well early 2012. After closing the 2011 season in October with a PanAm record, I expected to not only PB, but medal in London.

The moral of my story is: I love throwing the hammer. I love my family. While I do what I can without sacrificing either, if I had to, I'd stop throwing before I'm finished writing this post. I'm fortunate to not have to do that on anyone else's terms other than my own because of my amazing wife and great family support system.

Supportive families are the common denominator in having good balance as an athlete and family. And if family means slightly less success, so be it.

Hi @James Joycey , I definitely say throw heavy and light. Depending on your age, you should chose wisely. For instance, I wouldn't give a 17yo a 10k hammer. I'd think a couple kilos light and heavy of your competition weight should suffice. Unless otherwise directed by your coach.