GREAT FALLS, Mont. — James Parker stands on what was once a multimillion-dollar runway for the U.S. Air Force's flight mission at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
The first lieutenant is all alone throwing a couple hammers into the weeds that line the east side of the runway, which hasn't had a flight mission since the mid-1990s. Or at least he's alone until a media caravan shows up.
Soon, he's sweating a river, squinting into the sun, three television cameras and a newspaper photographer recording his every move while journalists pepper him with questions.
Parker is the center of attention after throwing the hammer 254 feet, 6 inches to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team going to Athens.
"I've been at this for 10 years, and this is just a dream come true," the 28-year-old Parker says. "Of course, I've always watched the Olympics and the opening ceremonies. You know, tears kind of leak out of your eyes. So to be representing the United States and the United States Air Force there, it's just awesome."
Parker was a standout shot and discus thrower while attending high school in Layton. He exploded onto the college scene as a freshman at Utah State in 1995, winning the Big West Conference hammer, discus and shot put championships to earn the conference's track and field athlete of the year honors.
It was then that Parker realized he might have potential in the hammer, which is basically a 16-pound shot on the end of a 4-foot wire that Parker whirls around his head while spinning in a tight circle a couple times before letting it loose into those weeds.
Parker describes it a little differently.
"It's basically a little like golf except you throw the club," he says, smiling.
Doing so well so early in the event, which isn't even offered in high school, gave Parker confidence.
"It just felt right," he explains.
It was after that promising freshman season that Parker's path started to differ from many competitors.
He went on a two-year Mormon mission to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
He returned to Utah State in 1999 and graduated in 2001 with seven conference titles and earned NCAA All-America status nine times for the Aggies.
And that's when Parker enlisted in the Air Force.
"My dad is retired military, and I've always wanted to serve my country in some way," he explains.
He was accepted into the Air Force's World Class Athlete Program in January 2003, allowing him to concentrate almost entirely on throwing the hammer.
"Your job is basically to do your sport," he says. "You're still in the military, but it's your job to concentrate on what you do, throwing or running, or whatever. They take all the other pressure and responsibility off you. You could always get deployed, you're still a soldier, but in reality you're just training."
Parker ended the season ranked No. 1 in the United States and won the silver medal in the Pan Am Games.
And he's only gotten better.
"This season has been by far the best," he says. "It's been awesome. I'm just throwing farther and farther."
Since joining the athletic program at the Air Force, Parker has split time between Eugene, Ore., where his coach lives, and the home at MAFB where his wife, Kami, and 14-month-old son "Little James," live.
"This has been his dream for 10 years, and I knew that going into it," Kami says. "And now it's our dream."
Parker is candid about his chances.
"I'm ranked 15th in the world, so I'm not expected to do anything," he says. "But in a big meet like this anything can happen. Some of the best guys can go up and choke. I just want to go out and throw a personal best (currently 259 feet, 10 inches) and make the finals and do well. Maybe even end up on the medal stand."