Emily Ebert’s dream is to go the Olympics someday and she’s about to take that first step this summer. From July 6-17, the Clear Fork High School senior will compete in Australia at the Down Under Sports Competition. She will be one of 12-15 students from Ohio and three hundred from the United States to attend this competition.
“A lot of Olympic athletes start off in the Down Under Sports, so it’s kind of a step in that direction,” said Ebert. In Australia, Ebert will spend several days working with college coaches on improving her technique before the three days of competition.
The 18-year-old started discus and shot put throwing in the eighth grade. “I didn’t really know what it was, but once I tried it, I thought it was cool ‘cause I get to throw stuff.” She is now a 3-year varsity letterman for track and MVP 2013 for field events. She’s also a member of the Marching/Concert band where she plays the tuba.
Ebert’s personal record is 121-feet for the discus and 30.7-feet for the shot put. Clear Fork Coach Dave Carroll is the head coach for both the boys track and the boys and girls throws. Ebert credits him for helping prepare her for the upcoming competition.
Part of Ebert’s training involves weight lifting, which she does a couple hours every day. “I set a new personal record this week when I bench pressed 135 pounds,” said Ebert of her work-out schedule. During the colder months she only gets to throw once per week in the gym, spending the rest of her time weight lifting. In the warmer months when she can throw outside, she’ll spend every day throwing.
To help raise the five thousand dollars needed for her trip, Ebert sells her family’s maple syrup. She taps the trees herself; and has tapped over a hundred trees this past year. She raffles pints of the syrup for $1 or people can purchase a pint for $10. She’s also garnered some personal and business sponsors for her trip, having raised nearly half the money needed so far.
As far as Ebert’s future, she’s thinking about going into the medical field but isn’t sure what area yet. Right now her focus is on throwing as she’s looking at two colleges that have strong track programs: Muskingum University in southern Ohio or Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois.
If anyone is interested in purchasing raffle tickets or pints of syrup, or would like to be a sponsor for Emily Ebert, they can contact her parents at 740-507-1217.
