EUGENE, Ore. — EDITOR'S NOTE: The interview with Jagers in the player above is from March of 2020, prior to the decision to postpone the Olympics until 2021.
A native son of Northeast Ohio is about to realize his Olympic dream.
Reggie Jagers III, a former track and field star at Solon and Kent State, qualified for Team U.S.A. in the discus throw at Friday's Olympic trials. The 26-year-old placed second with a top distance on 62.61 meters, making him one of three American male athletes to meet the Olympic standard.
After earning team MVP honors with the Comets and placing second in the discus at the 2012 Junior Olympics, Jagers blossomed at KSU, and as a senior won the MAC indoor championship in the weight throw along with the outdoor championships in both the hammer throw and discus throw. At that year's NCAA championships, he finished runner-up in the discus event.
This is not Jagers' first foray into international competition: In 2017, he competed in Taiwan in Summer Universiade and earned a gold medal in the discus throw. He then won the event at the 2018 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships before winning bronze at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru.
Jagers made the standard with his sixth and final throw of the day. He will be joined in Tokyo this August by teammates Mason Finley (first place, 63.07) and Sam Mattis (third, 62.51).
More headlines from the Olympic trials: