The Commodore graduate student won an NCAA title in discus in June and now sets her sights on a gold medal.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – This summer, Commodore nation will be cheering loudly for Vanderbilt graduate student Veronica Fraley as she competes for Team USA in the discus throw in the Paris Olympics.
Fraley has already produced a career season, winning the NCAA outdoor national title in discus in June, and then competing in the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials just weeks later. She was a bronze medalist in the discus at the Trials with a throw of 62.54 meters and, based on a previous Olympic standard throw, made Team USA.
“It means everything,” Fraley said with a smile. “I think those are just two of the titles I’ve been working on for the entirety of my collegiate season. Just having worked so hard to do two of the biggest things you can do in track and field, I think is amazing.”
The near back-to-back nature of the NCAA Championships and U.S. Trials was a challenge, but a fitting one for Fraley.
“I think the mindset was just trying to put forth my best foot and do what I knew was possible,” Fraley said. “I think coming from NCAAs and going into Trials, a lot of it is the same caliber of competition that you’ll see on the world stage as well, so I think those two meets, in particular, are very good kind of preliminaries for Olympics.”
The Raleigh, North Carolina native described the complex approach to excelling in throws in track and field.
“Just coming to learn the implement as much as you’re learning yourself and how to perfect the relationship between the two has been extremely important,” Fraley said. “I think it’s kind of just a dance with each implement that you’re doing.”
Fraley has perfected that dance with the discus, all while pursuing academic excellence at Vanderbilt. She’s working on her third degree, in human development, which is her second master’s at Vanderbilt.
Her first master’s was in biomedical science, and she studied health science during undergrad at Clemson.
“There’s no reason that Vanderbilt can’t be good at both, can’t be an athletic powerhouse and an academic powerhouse at the same time,” Fraley said. “I think this is just an amazing experience and amazing support system I have here at the school. They’ve done everything to my benefit and I hope to be able to represent them very well.”
Fraley will compete for Team USA in the Olympic discus qualifying round on August 2.
