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YSU’s Neu finally gets a break
Former Penguin
looks ahead to ’20
By charles grove
It’s time to relax for former Youngstown State track and field star Conner Neu — in terms of both mind and body.
The throw specialist competed in the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials on July 6, placing 11th overall after winning his initial flight. His best toss in the finals traveled 68.43 meters.
Still, not too shabby as far as the Brook Park native was concerned.
“I ended up throwing pretty decent,” Neu said. “I threw well within my average and in my book that’s a pretty good day.”
The Olympic Trials weren’t about bulking up as much as you could right before the match and making a Hulk-esque throw. For Neu, the key to success in a meet with mile-high stakes is a clear mind.
“What I’ve noticed about my career is meets that I go to where I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself, where I go and just throw to throw instead of worrying about place or making finals, those are the meets I’ve had the most success at,” he said.
“Anybody can train their body. Anyone can get the repetition down. Anyone can eat right and all that. But what makes these people Olympians is the mental part. They know if they put too much pressure on themselves they’re not going to perform well.”
Neu said he thought he did a “pretty good” job of blocking out the network television cameras and the thoughts in the back of his mind reminding him that a great throw could land him in Rio wearing the red, white and blue.
“It just comes with experience,” Neu said. “The more time you put yourself in that situation the more you become aware of that situation. When you throw in practice there isn’t that adrenaline or that rush from the pressure of having to perform well.”
Preparing the mind for such an intense meet isn’t nearly as easy when you top off the fact that Neu hasn’t had a break for over a year. He had an indoor and outdoor track and field season at YSU to worry about before he could get around to training for the Olympic Trials.
“I sat down and did the math and realized I had trained for 60 straight weeks leading up to the Olympic trials,” Neu said. “You begin to fight burnout. I had been battling it for months. It’s really challenging being a college athlete and then continuing after your seasons for months. So showing up and still throwing 68 meters was an accomplishment.”
Once July 6 finally rolled around, the 16-pound hammer still wasn’t as difficult of a task as making sure he could officially take part in the competition. Track and field meets typically require athletes to check in at very specific times prior to their events and one little slip up could mean that 60 weeks of training went for naught as far as the Olympics were concerned.
“It was a whole new level at the trials,” Neu said. “I had this sense that if I didn’t get my jersey turned in so they could stamp it I was going to be in trouble. It was like my mom was looking over me. It was more stressful than the competition.”
But now with the dust settled and a well-earned break from training, Neu has his sites solidly set on 2020. And without an indoor season or college workload to worry about anymore, Neu can begin training like most of his fellow competitors did this go-around.
“I’ll probably start back up in late August,” Neu said. “I’ll bang it out and put in the hard work until I throw 77 meters in four years and make the Olympic team.”