Northover to represent Jamaica at Olympics in Beijing
Northover qualified for the Olympics on June 8, when she won the Island Games in Uniondale, N.Y., with a throw of 17.56 meters (57'7.25). That throw surpassed the Olympic "B" standard of 17.20 meters (56'5). She was officially selected to represent Jamaica in Beijing by the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association on Tuesday.
Northover now plans to train in Boston and Flagstaff, Ariz., before reporting to the Athletes Village in China on July 31. The Olympic Games begin on Aug. 8 with the opening ceremonies and the track & field competition takes place Aug. 15-24.
Northover competed on the Northeastern women's track & field team from 2002-07 and went undefeated in the shot put at the conference level, winning four America East Championships (two indoor and two outdoor) and two CAA Championships. Northover also won the shot put at the New England Championship and ECAC Championship four times each.
As a senior, Northover was named CAA Field Athlete of the Year after winning the shot put, discus and hammer and placing seventh in the javelin. She helped lead the Huskies to their first CAA title in any sport. Her throw of 55'0.75 at the ECAC Championship during the 2007 outdoor season set the Northeastern and ECAC records. Northover was a five-time NCAA Championship qualifier and had the best national finish of her career in her final season, placing 10th at the NCAA Championship during the 2007 outdoor season.
In the summer after Northover graduated from Northeastern in 2007, she won the shot put at the Jamaican National Championship and placed ninth at the Pan American Games. She worked at Northeastern in the Office of Alumni Relations and as a volunteer assistant coach for the track & field team before leaving to train full time for the Olympics.
Northeastern has had one other representative in the Olympics in track & field - Bruce Bickford - in 1988. Bickford competed in the 10,000 meter. After a stellar collegiate career in which he earned several All-America honors, Bickford went on to be ranked No. 1 in the world in the 10,000 meter by Track & Field News in 1985, marking the most recent time an American was ranked No. 1 in the world in a distance event. Bickford graduated from Northeastern in 1980. Boris Djerassi, Class of 1975, qualified for the 1980 Olympics in the hammer throw, but wasn't able to compete due to the U.S. boycott of the Olympics in Moscow. Djerassi is Northeastern's only NCAA champion in any event, as he won the hammer with a throw of 225'8 in 1975.
July 9, 2008
Boston, MANortheastern alum Zara Northover has been chosen to represent Jamaica in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won the shot put at the Jamaican Olympic Trials in Kingston, Jamaica, on June 28 with a throw of 16.78 meters (55'0.5), beating out runner-up Nadia Alexander. She becomes the first Northeastern women's athlete to compete in the Summer Olympics.
