My week started with a competition in Paris on Monday June 3rd, Rome on Thursday June 6th and then I finished the week throwing on Saturday June 8th in Chicago.  After spening friday flying from Rome to Chicago I wasnt sure how much was left in the tank but I was able to take all 6 throws and had a really good time.  The format was mixed was mixed men and women and also the top highschool kids which made it really fun.  Everyone cheered for one another and we had a nice crowd for a throws only meet.  A highlight for me was my cousin who lives in the area was able to come and bring her two daughters and watch me throw live!!  My throws were not anything super but consistent and my best was 59.54m.  We threw in 2 flights of 16 so I was 2nd in my flight but 3rd overall.  After the meet we got to hang out in downtown Chicago and watch the fireworks from the Navy Pier.  I was going to stop by Oprah’s house but I figured she wasn’t home.  Spending the evening with the top US throwers PRICELESS(Wild).

Up Next USA’s in Des Moines, IA June 23rd…

 View more photos from the meet on my UNATION page

Join me on UNATION

Chicagoland’s facebook page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=monmM7ZUb2Y

Well my 2013 season is officially underway.  Thank you to everyone for all your support and a special thanks for all who came out to cheer.  It really helps a lot.  We had a beautiful day in Auburn, AL.  I didn’t have any expectations for the meet, just to get started and see where I am at in my training.  It’s hard to train for almost 7 months with no competitions.  Now I know what we need to continue to do to progress through out the season.  I finished in 1st place with a throw 60.20 meters.  Up next is the War Eagle Invite, in Auburn, AL on April 20th.

Women’s discus results 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq2oquUH0fA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XCgQ0nCZxk

Many of you have been asking for me to start a health blog and I have finally found the platform.  So I hope you are ready to “Get Healthy with Aretha”. Through the years of participating in athletics I have wanted to know more about how to be healthy.  I found myself looking for clarity on how to eat properly for athletics, wanting to know the best diet during my pregnancy and how not to fall victim to family health problems.  My journey has lead me to reading numerous books, watching documentaries, a lot of research and a continued passion to learn more.  While I am still on this journey, I realize now that it’s also time to share this information.  We all have different reasons for wanting a healthier lifestyle; weightloss, better looking skin, more energy, fighting off disease, less stress, etc…  This series of health blogs are designed to challenge, motivate and inspire a healthy lifestyle.

Come connect with me on UNATION.  Here is your invite to JOIN.  Also let me know what health subjects you want to know more about.

11/12 Seattle, WA

A couple of photos from my time with Edmonds Community College basketball team and a message from the coach,

“Aretha was amazing. She did a great job. Had most of the guys talk to me afterwords and thank me for having her come by. She made some very good points about the choices they could make and how those effected their future success. She gave them lots of little nuggets to think about.”

10/12 Auburn, AL

An article in a local Magazine from an engagment with Lee-Scott Academy where I shared my Olympic experience with 45 Kindergarteners.

This years annual meeting was in Daytona Beach, FL and the city was ready for us.  We had great discussions on the inner workings of our sport and this was an election year.  On the athletes side of things we elected new officers for the TFAA, AAC, USOC Reps and the BOD.  Many of us were reelected to continue to serve in our current roles.  I was reelected to the Board of Directors.  Stephanie Hightower was reelected as our President of USATF. We were very busy but got a lot of work done.

One of my highlights of this years annual meeting was presenting the award for Best Male Olympic Performance at the Jesse Owens awards banquet.  This was my 1st time using a teleprompter, which was pretty cool.  The winner of the award was Will Claye who won medals in both the Triple Jump and the Long Jump, the last time anyone has done that was 1936.  As always it was great to see all of our sports stars in place.

This event is going to be televised on Dec. 27th on NBC Sports Network 7-8pm Eastern Time.  So make sure you tune in and give The Sport of Track and Field some love!

I have to give a Special Shout Out to Michelle Carter for helping me with my make up!!  Check her out @ShotDiva

Photo Credit goes to, Cheryl Treworgy

It’s hard to give a recap of such a wonderful experience, but I’ll give it a try.  Our pre Olympic training camp was based in Birmingham, England where they pulled out the red carpet to help us feel at home.  One of the nice things about training camp is the opportunity to get to know the staff, medical and do some team bonding, since this is the crew you’ll spend the next month of your life with.   Our set up was very peaceful and relaxing and our practice facility was top notch.  Instead of our usual talent show we did a karaoke night instead and it was awesome to see folks come out of their shells and show personality.  Our star performers,

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Then we left our serenity to a small city known as the Olympic Village.  Move in day was a giant easter egg hunt when it came to finding our luggage,

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It took a few days to figure out the lay out, where to eat, catch the bus and how to get to the closet tube station.  My first event as Team Captain was breakfast with the 1st Lady Mrs. Obama.  She was just as excited to meet us as we were to meet her.

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I prepared as well as I possibility could for my competition and was ready to go.  My rhythm was the best I felt all season but I didn’t throw far enough to advance from qualifying to finals.  Although I was disappointed I left the stadium with head high knowing I did all I could do that day.  It was an honor to throw in front of my son and family and have them share the experience with me.

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I was able to tour London with my family,

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We finished most of our days with dinner at the P&G House, which was a really cool place for the whole family to hang out, relax and eat.  A big Thanks to P&G for taking such great care of our Mom’s and families while in London.

Then before I knew it, closing ceremonies was upon us,

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Even though this was my 4th Olympics, it too was a great experince that I will never forget.

Thanks again to my sponsors, family, friends and supporters over the years.

To see how everyone did visit, www.london2012.com