Chris Kirkwood aims for Olympics

SVHS grad throwing the javelin|

A former Sonoma Valley High athlete will be in Eugene, Oregon, this weekend attempting to qualify for the Rio Olympics next month.

Chris Kirkwood will be trying to qualify for the U.S. Olympic track and field team in the javelin. He’ll be competing in the qualifying round on Saturday, July 2, with the finals set for Monday, July 4.

The 31-year-old Kirkwood graduated from Sonoma Valley High School in 2002 where he competed in football and track as a pole vaulter. After high school, he attended Santa Rosa Junior College and continued to play football.

While at SRJC, Kirkwood happened to see one of his friends throwing this spear-like object.

“I figured that if I could throw a football 70 yards, then I could throw the javelin,” he said. “In the spring of 2003 I found my new sport, javelin, after I realized I was too heavy for the pole vault.”

After SRJC, he competed for Sacramento State during the 2006 and 2007 track seasons, advancing to the NCAA West Regional championships in the javelin each season.

“As a senior, I broke the school record for javelin, with a throw of 213 feet 7 inches,” he said. “I also earned All-Conference honors for the second consecutive season by placing second at the Big West Championships.”

Kirkwood graduated from the California State University of Sacramento in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in digital media. After Sac State, he started competing unattached, and in 2012 he threw a personal best of 229 feet 7 inches (70.03 meters).

In addition to competing unattached, he has been mentoring young athletes as a volunteer coach for Sacramento State since 2008.

“Since I have been coaching, I have trained three athletes who broke the school record and earned themselves a place at the Big Sky Conference Championships.”

In 2012, Kirkwood qualified for the Olympic Trials, but ended up missing one of the limited competition slots by a mere six inches.

“Since 2012, I have qualified and competed in two National Championships as well as qualifying for the upcoming 2016 Olympic Trials with a throw of 240 feet 7 inches (73.38 meters), ranking me 17th in the nation,” he said.

But you have to do something to pay the bills. Kirkwood is a firefighter with the City of Grass Valley Fire Department after earning an Emergency Medical Technician certificate in 2014 and a Firefighter 1 certificate in 2015.

“My family are my biggest fans, especially my wife, Emily, and 3-year-old son, Tyler. They have been nothing but supportive of me during my quest to the 2016 Olympics in Rio,” he said.

Kirkwood’s parents, Joe and Denise Kirkwood, and his sister, Sharna Campbell and family, still reside in Sonoma Valley.

“I am truly grateful for the support from my family and friends,” he said.

He created a Gofundme page about two weeks ago to raise money for his quest to the Olympics in Rio. He was hoping to raise $8,000, and raised $6,000 in the first two weeks. The Gofundme page is gofundme.com/29m6w2s.

“It was unbelievable the amount of support I received so quickly. I can’t express my gratitude enough to all those who have supported me along this journey,” he added.

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