Sheldon man looks to throw the hammer in Greece

Sheldon native A.G. Kruger has made the U.S. Olympic track and field team, now he wants to qualify to compete in Athens. The former Morningside College standout finished second at the U.S. Trials in the hammer throw, good enough to make the team, but the qualifying standard for the Olympics is 258-feet. He says there’s only been three or four Americans that’ve been able to throw further than that. He says he needs to throw about six more feet and thinks that’s “doable.”Kruger needs to reach the mark by August ninth and will compete in a number of meets, the first one on Thursday. He says it’s a mark he knew from the beginning of the year he wanted to hit and says he came close at the trials. Kruger would love to compete in Athens but is young by hammer thrower standards and should have several more opportunities to make the Olympics. He says his goal was to make the Olympic team, but he says most of the Europeans are hitting their peak at the age of 32. He says he hopes to go to the Olympics four or five times. Kruger played two sports while at Morningside, adding football with track.