Opportunities for collegiate athletes to compete at the highest level with professionals of their respective sports can be few and far between. The International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships provided just such an occasion for some current UCLA athletes.
Five athletes represented UCLA track and field at the event in Moscow. Besides UCLA volunteer coach Sharon Day, UCLA alumna Dawn Harper and UCLA alumnus Brandon Johnson, rising senior discus thrower Julian Wruck competed for his home country of Australia and rising senior decathlete Marcus Nilsson played for Sweden.
“I think for both of them (Wruck and Nilsson), being as young as they are, it is just an incredible experience to be on that stage,” said UCLA coach Jack Hoyt. “I think they both peaked at the end of May (or) early June for us. I think it was tough for both of them to be off campus for a couple of months and then to prepare for the championships.”
Hoyt said that he believed the two were not at their very best physically due to their adjustments with training away from school. Wruck finished 11th overall in the men’s discus throw and Nilsson finished 24th in the decathlon.
In spite of relatively middling results for the two, Hoyt continued to emphasize the importance of the experience and how the two can learn from it going forward.
“They’re both really positive out there and had great experiences overall,” Hoyt said. “And to be on that stage kind of sets you up to be preparing for the next Olympic Games as well. I think they both should be on their Olympic teams – kind of hard to project beyond that – but we’ll have to see what happens in the next three years.”
The experience for Wruck and Nilsson is one that they can utilize as they finish out their careers at UCLA and look forward to the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, as well as the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Hoyt said that given the proper training after they end their UCLA careers, they will be able to optimally prepare for these future events and look to improve on their already promising results.
“Julian (Wruck), I think he can get a medal. I think he will get more confident and know how to prepare up to the Olympic Games. They both peaked during the college season, and it is hard to bring it two months later and get back to that level,” Hoyt said. “But in 2016, they’ll be done with school, they’ll be professionals and be able to put it all together.”
Compiled by Reece Foster, Bruin Sports contributor.