BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Former Texas A&M track and field standout Maggie Malone-Hardin sent a message before a previously scheduled interview. A meeting she was in ran long and she would be approximately 15 minutes late clicking the Zoom link that was waiting in her inbox.
The meeting wasn’t a workout with a personal trainer, nor an appointment with a throwing coach as she prepares for the Paris Olympics. While staying in Finland for last minute practice before heading to France, Malone-Hardin sat in on a video conference meeting with her real job serving as the partner relationships manager for the Arbor Day Foundation of Lincoln, Neb.
Malone-Hardin is one of 24 former Texas A&M athletes and students who will compete in the 2024 Olympic Games, some of which have already begun. The official opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics begins at 12:30 p.m. CDT Friday.
However, as an unsponsored athlete, Malone-Hardin’s road to the Olympics had quite a few more hurdles than one would expect, including working a day job to support her athletic dreams.
“It’s an amazing partnership and an amazing job and they have been extremely supportive of my dream and of my path and have allowed me to work and train over here in Finland and all around the world,” Malone-Hardin told KBTX.
This Olympiad will be the third for Malone-Hardin, 30, who was a part of the A&M track and field team from 2015 to 2016. She set the 2016 American and national record with a throw of 204 feet at the NCAA Championship. This year, she broke the US Olympic Team Trials record with a throw of 211-10 at Oregon’s Hayward Field.
A photo was captured of Malone’s reaction when she saw the record broken and has since gone viral around the track and field community.
“It’s just so funny because, from where you stand on the runway, you don’t know how far it is. I knew it was over the 60-meter line, but I had no idea how far and so when I saw the number, I, like, kind of walked off,” she said. “Then I was like, ‘Wait a second. I was like 64. That’s a meet record.’ It’s so funny that is the moment they caught, because it was a very authentic moment and a very real reaction.”
The life of a full-time field athlete is very real as well. Malone typically wakes up around 5:30 a.m. for a training session that begins approximately 15 minutes later. Life quickly rotates to her day job at 8:30 a.m., where she is focused on working with corporate partners to plant trees across the globe. After clocking out, it’s back to the practice grind in the evenings with her coach, and husband, Sam Hardin.
There have been injuries and financial struggles that have, at times, put the thought of quitting in her head, she said. But, through the support of her job and her family she has worked her way up to fifth in the world rankings.
This season, her attitude has been centered around joy.
“I would say that this is the most joyful season that I’ve had. It has been a really tough journey to get here. I’m so thankful to God – so thankful to Jesus – for just really straightening my path and putting certain people in my life, like my husband who coaches me,” Malone-Hardin said.
Malone-Hardin has started multiple fundraisers to help fund her career and trip to the Olympics, including an assortment of T-shirts for sale. There is also a way to directly send donations via Venmo, should her line of T-shirts not be in your style.
After all, one javelin can cost approximately $2,500.
“My favorite is seeing my friend’s kids with their T-shirts on,” she said. “That has just really given my heart just a boost.”
This year, Malone-Hardin is one of 10 former A&M track athletes to make it to the Olympics, a bond which is like no other, she said. She improved from 25th in 2016 to 10th in the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 196-3 in the latest Olympiad.
The women’s javelin throw qualifying rounds are on August 7, beginning at 3:25 a.m. CDT. The finals will be held on August 10 at 12:40 p.m.
The goal, of course, is to medal. But as she’s grown in her career, she knows that there is so much more to her life than what the sport of javelin can produce.
“I am really grateful just to get to compete one more time and take the experience that I had from the last two and pull it into this third one and, overall, know that my worth isn’t in the medal that I may or may not receive or the number that comes up on the screen, but it’s in Jesus at the end of the day,” she said. “He gave me this gift and my hope and goal is that I can go out there and steward that gift the best I can.”
Texas A&M former students in the Paris Olympics
| Name | Event | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Casey Kaufhold | Archery | USA |
| Catalina Gnoriega | Archery | USA |
| Grant Koontz | Cycling | USA |
| Kurtis Mathews | Diving | Australia |
| Jaxon Bowshire | Diving | Austrailia |
| Shane Casas | Swimming | USA |
| Sydney Pickrem | Swimming | Canada |
| Beryl Gastaldello | Swimming | France |
| Aviv Barzelay | Swimming | Israel |
| McKenna DeBever | Swimming | Peru |
| Jing Wen Quah | Swimming | Singapore |
| Austin Krajicek | Tennis | USA |
| Hady Habib | Tennis | Lebanon |
| Maggie Malone-Hardin | Track & Field | USA |
| Fred Kerley | Track & Field | USA |
| Jacob Wooten | Track & Field | USA |
| Brandon Miller | Track & Field | USA |
| Bryce Deadmon | Track & Field | USA |
| Shamier Little | Track & Field | USA |
| Yasser Mohamed Tahar | Track & Field | Algeria |
| Lindon Victor | Track & Field | Grenada |
| Lamara Distin | Track & Field | Jamaica |
| Charokee Young | Track & Field | Jamaica |
| Tahar Triki | Track & Field | Algeria |
| Joni Taylor* | Women’s Basketball | USA |
*Current A&M WBB coach serving in assistant coach role
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