On the morning of Aug. 3 at the Olympic Games in London, two individuals represented the United States in the hammer throw preliminary qualification round.

Both can be traced back to Ashland.

A.G. Kruger is the current strength and conditioning coach for Ashland’s athletic teams and AU graduate Kibwe Johnson.

Prelims for this event saw Kruger finish 25 overall with his best toss measuring 72.14 meters.

Johnson was fifth overall with a toss of 77.17 meters, which advanced him to the finals on Aug. 5.

In finals, Johnson finished ninth overall with a best toss of 74.95 m.

This was the highest finish for an American since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta where Lance Deal finished second.

Krisztian Pars of Hungary won the gold medal in the hammer throw with a toss of 80.59 meters.