TEMPE – Two Sun Devil greats and one current Devil head to Doha, Qatar, this week to represent their nations and compete for a gold medal at the International Association of Athletics Federation World Championships.
Among the three Sun Devils traveling to the peninsula in the Persian Gulf will be Norwegian international and two-time All-American Beatrice Llano, 11-time U.S. champion Shelby Houlihan and four-time NCAA champion and two-time Bowerman Award finalist Maggie Ewen.
The Sun Devils start competing on the first day of the championships as the women's hammer throw that features Llano kicks off Friday morning. There will be two preliminary rounds of the hammer, and Llano will participate in the A section. To advance to the final round, throwers will have to clear 72.0m/236-2 feet.
Clearing that distance would mean a new personal best and a new Norwegian record for Llano, who set the nation's leading mark of 71.43m/234-4 feet back in March at the Baldy Castillo Invitational in Tempe.
Should Llano get through to the final, she'd throw for a world title the following day.
Ewen will be the next Devil on deck in Doha as the two-time collegiate record-holder steps into the ring for the first round of the shot put on Oct. 2. That same day, the U.S. 1,500-meter champion Houlihan starts her title chase in the prelims for the 1,500.
Like the hammer throw, Ewen will need to hit a qualification mark to advance to the final that will be held the following day.
As for Houlihan, she'll have to endure three rounds of racing to earn a gold medal in Qatar. The opening round heats take place on Oct. 2 and the semifinals follow the next day.
Should she advance through the first two rounds, Houlihan will get Oct. 4 off before lining up for the world championship final on Oct. 5.
Her schedule could have been a bit busier, though. Houlihan made history back in July when she became the first woman in nearly two decades to win three-straight U.S. 5,000-meter titles. By winning American gold and reaching the world standard, she was eligible to compete at the World Championships in the 5,000 as well, but decided to sit out and will focus on the 1,500.
The 2019 IAAF World Championships will be aired live and available for stream on the NBC family of networks, including NBCSports, The Olympic Channel and NBCSports Gold.
Among the three Sun Devils traveling to the peninsula in the Persian Gulf will be Norwegian international and two-time All-American Beatrice Llano, 11-time U.S. champion Shelby Houlihan and four-time NCAA champion and two-time Bowerman Award finalist Maggie Ewen.
The Sun Devils start competing on the first day of the championships as the women's hammer throw that features Llano kicks off Friday morning. There will be two preliminary rounds of the hammer, and Llano will participate in the A section. To advance to the final round, throwers will have to clear 72.0m/236-2 feet.
Clearing that distance would mean a new personal best and a new Norwegian record for Llano, who set the nation's leading mark of 71.43m/234-4 feet back in March at the Baldy Castillo Invitational in Tempe.
Should Llano get through to the final, she'd throw for a world title the following day.
Ewen will be the next Devil on deck in Doha as the two-time collegiate record-holder steps into the ring for the first round of the shot put on Oct. 2. That same day, the U.S. 1,500-meter champion Houlihan starts her title chase in the prelims for the 1,500.
Like the hammer throw, Ewen will need to hit a qualification mark to advance to the final that will be held the following day.
As for Houlihan, she'll have to endure three rounds of racing to earn a gold medal in Qatar. The opening round heats take place on Oct. 2 and the semifinals follow the next day.
Should she advance through the first two rounds, Houlihan will get Oct. 4 off before lining up for the world championship final on Oct. 5.
Her schedule could have been a bit busier, though. Houlihan made history back in July when she became the first woman in nearly two decades to win three-straight U.S. 5,000-meter titles. By winning American gold and reaching the world standard, she was eligible to compete at the World Championships in the 5,000 as well, but decided to sit out and will focus on the 1,500.
The 2019 IAAF World Championships will be aired live and available for stream on the NBC family of networks, including NBCSports, The Olympic Channel and NBCSports Gold.