Jul. 3—EUGENE, OR- Maggie Malone-Hardin, daughter of Palestine residents Danny and Nancy Malone, will be off to Paris this summer with Team USA, qualifying for her third straight Olympic Games in the women’s javelin throw.
Malone-Hardin, who began her college career at the University of Nebraska before becoming a 2016 graduate of Texas A&M University, is one of the most accomplished field athletes in the nation, qualifying all four years of her college career for the NCAA Track and Field Championships, winning a national championship in her senior year.
That same year, Malone-Hardin qualified for her first ever Olympic Games, placing first overall in Team USA’s Olympic Trials.
Now a veteran of the games, Malone-Hardin feels with her previous experiences in Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021, she is more prepared than ever to bring home a medal.
“This one I feel like I’m the most prepared,” she said. “I’ve been there two times, even though Tokyo was different because of COVID. But I’ve gotten national experience. I’m in a good space of trusting my coaching, myself and my faith. I want to get a medal, but at the end of the day I can only control what I can control, like my throwing. I just have to continue to trust the process going forward.”
The process worked at this year’s Olympic Trials, as Malone-Hardin set the women’s new all time match record with a throw of 211′-11,” punching her ticket to Paris.
She credits her parents for keeping her active in her youth, and not forcing, or allowing, her to focus on only one sport. The well rounded balance she found from playing volleyball, basketball and softball, as well as running track, she said has helped her fine tune all of her strengths, and helped turn her into the Olympian she is today.
“I was a point guard, a catcher, an outside hitter and did long jump,” she said. “My mom and dad are coaches, so they pushed me to be the best athlete I could be, and to do as many events as possible. I’m glad they allowed me to do all the sporting events and not to just specialize in one certain thing.”
Malone-Hardin’s parents have their own sporting skins on the wall, as her father Danny was a member of the 1970 Nebraska Cornhusker National Championship football team, and her mother, Nancy, was an All-American for the Huskers track team.
Despite this being her third time to don the colors of Team USA for the Olympics, the privilege of getting to be part of the team is not lost on her.
“You feel almost like a superhero,” she said. “Feelings of pride and excitement. I love my country so much, so when I put that uniform on, that level of pride and love and joy is elevated from wearing that uniform. You cheer on everyone, gymnastics, rowing, track and field. We’re one. One body, one country, showing all the hard work and dedication we put into this.”
The journey has been long and hard, but in the ten years she has been competing in the event, Malone-Hardin has shown improvement each and every year, despite holding a ‘normal’ 40-hour a week job, and getting married to her husband Sam in 2022.
Few know her struggles more than her mother Nancy, who finds joy in the fact that her daughter has found her true calling.
“Knowing Maggie’s journey for the past 10 years, her struggle with finding her purpose through this thing called a ‘javelin,’ it makes me look skyward and smile. She understands her true purpose,” Nancy said.
The women’s javelin throw will begin on Aug. 7 at Stade de France, or Stadium of France, just north of Paris. The nearly 81,000 person venue is the largest in France, and typically hosts the French National soccer and rugby teams for international competition.
While not competing or recovering, Malone-Hardin hopes to see some of the greatest athletes in the world in action, and up close in the Olympic Village, where all athletes from all countries live during the Olympic games. Some of the “must sees” for Malone-Hardin include Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee, as well as keeping an eye on fellow Texas A&M graduates Fred Kerley, 100-meter dash, and Jacob Wooten, pole vault.
