Oregon track and field adds throws guru Brian Blutreich to its coaching staff
Days after announcing the hiring of distance coach Shalane Flanagan and the retention of associate head coach Curtis Taylor, who is in charge of sprinters and hurdles, new Oregon coach Jerry Schumacher made sure the Ducks’ throwers will also be well taken care of.
Schumacher has hired former Arizona State assistant Brian Blutreich to coach the throwers, snatching the 1992 Olympian and a two-time USTFCCCA national assistant coach of the year away from Tennessee, which announced the hiring of Blutreich on July 22.
"I've known Brian for over two decades now, and during that time he's established himself as one of the best throws coaches in the world," Schumacher said. "The experience and proven record of success he will bring to Oregon is unmatched. Most importantly, Brian is dedicated to his student-athletes' development on and off the field of competition. I'm incredibly excited for the opportunity to work together."
In his six seasons in Tempe, Blutreich coached NCAA-record holders Turner Washington (men’s indoor shot put) and Jorinde van Klinken (women’s discus), as well as Maggie Ewen, the only woman in NCAA history to win shot put, discus and hammer titles, and who was a finalist for The Bowerman Award in 2017 and 2018.
In 2022, Washington and van Klinken won NCAA indoor titles in the shot put with van Klinken adding an NCAA outdoor title in the discus.
Washington was a finalist for The Bowerman Award in 2021 after winning three NCAA titles with a sweep of the indoor and outdoor titles in the shot put and a victory outdoors in the discus.
Blutreich will take over a group of throwers in Eugene that includes sophomore Mine De Klerk of South Africa, who repeated as the U20 World Athletics Champion in the women's shot put on Tuesday.
Also expected back is Jaida Ross, whose breakout season in 2022 included a school record in the women's shot put and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, as well as Pac-12 men's javelin champion Ty Hampton.
Blutreich, 55, a native of Mission Viejo, Calif., was a six-time all-American at UCLA (1986-90) and twice the Pac-10 champion in the discus (1989, 1990). During his collegiate career, the Bruins won two NCAA team titles and three-consecutive Pac-10 championships.
His wife Lynda Lipson-Blutreich was a 2000 Olympian in Sydney and a three-time U.S. javelin champion.
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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon track and field hires renowned throws coach Brian Blutreich
