Marietta native, KSU product Haugh qualifies for Olympics in hammer throw

Jun. 21—Daniel Haugh, a Marietta native and former Kennesaw State standout, qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a top-three finish in the hammer throw Sunday at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

The 26-year-old Haugh finished second with a personal-best mark of 260 feet, 5 inches in the last of five attempts. Haugh will be joined in Tokyo later this summer by Rudy Winkler and Alex Young.

Winkler, a 2016 Olympian, achieved a meet record of 264-11 on his first attempt, then topped it with an American record of 271-4 on his second attempt. Young maxed out at 256-11 on his final attempt.

Haugh attended St. Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta before beginning his college career at Alabama. He transferred to Kennesaw State for his final year of eligibility, winning the 2019 NCAA outdoor championship in the hammer throw.

Haugh, also a product of the Marietta-based Throw 1 Deep club program, has spent the last two seasons as a volunteer assistant for the Kennesaw State track team.

The Olympic trials will continue over the next week with five more athletes with Kennesaw State ties competing — Kord Ferguson (men's discus), Paris Williams (women's 110-meter hurdles), Allatoona High School graduate Sarah Hendrick (women's 800 run), Haley Teel (women's shot put) and Jordan Gray (heptathlon).

Gray, a Kennesaw State alum, will vie for a top-three finish in a heptathlon field that also features 2016 Olympian Kendell Williams, a former Kell High School and Georgia star.