The duo of Gator throwers tallied outstanding marks in the weekend competition.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore Alida van Daalen and senior Kai Chang spent the weekend in Ramona, Okla. where van Daalen achieved the Olympic Standard and Chang reset his own school record in the discus throw while competing in the Oklahoma Throw Series.
On Saturday, van Daalen set a mark that was simply groundbreaking. Her best throw of 66.31m/217’6″ not only is a personal best by nearly four meters, but gives the Netherlands native the 2024 Paris Olympic Standard and currently ranks her sixth in the world in the event. This also marks the fourth consecutive week that van Daalen has set a new school record in discus.
Chang recorded a season best throw of 63.06m/206’10.75″, in Saturday’s action, breaking his own school record of 61.65m/202’3″ which was set at the Triton Invitational earlier this month.
The duo also competed in the Discus Throw on Sunday and both repeated with strong performances. Chang recorded a best throw of 62.40m/204’8″ and van Daalen tallied a mark of 66.00m/216’6″.
As this event was sanctioned by USATF and not the NCAA, these marks will not count towards the 2023-2024 Trak & Field season but will contribute towards the athletes push to represent their nation at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Gators will continue action this weekend as they travel to both the LSU Invitational and East Coast Relays on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27.
Shortly following, the Gators will host the SEC Outdoor Championships for the first time since 2009. The University of Florida will welcome all conference opponents to James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track for the competition.
Tickets for the 2024 SEC Outdoor Championships can now be purchased by clicking here<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/24secoutdoor>.
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