SYDNEY — Jason Pyrah won't be the only Utah resident and BYU track and field standout competing at Friday night's finals at the Sydney Summer Games.
Also qualifying was Amy Christensen Palmer, who competed in Wednesday morning's opening round of the women's hammer and ended up being the 12th and final qualifier.
With women's hammer making its Olympic debut, the former Grantsville High throwing standout registered a three-throw best of 62.78 meters. She edged out Hungary's Katalin Divos by just .04 meters for the last spot in the finals.
The track facilities were still soggy from a torrential downpour the night before — Tuesday was an off day for track competition, so nothing was rained out — as well as thunderstorms early Wednesday morning.
"We will have to see how the next round goes," Palmer said. "The first two throws, it was wet, it was slippery and people were falling.
"It wasn't until the last throw that the ring actually dried up and we actually were able to work the ball a little more without falling. Pretty frustrating."
With her spot in the finals in question after competing in the morning's opening heat, Palmer was helped in her quest when world-record-holder Mihaela Melinte of Romania was suspended by the governing International Amateur Athletics Federation following a positive anti-doping test. Melinte was told of the test results and pulled from the stadium just prior to her participation in the second qualifying round.
The 25-year-old Palmer resides in Grantsville and commuted to Provo several times a week for her pre-Sydney training.