Rachel Yurkovich (2019) - Hall of Fame - University of Oregon Athletics

Rachel Yurkovich

Induction:
2019
Class:
2009

A two-time NCAA javelin champion and a rare four-time Pac-10 javelin champion, Olympian Rachel Yurkovich was one of the elite throwers of her era. After winning the Pac-10 javelin title and claiming All-American honors as a freshman, Yurkovich broke Oregon’s school record for the first time as a sophomore at the 2007 Arizona State Invitational with a throw of 189-11/57.90m. She went on to win her second Pac-10 javelin title and earn All-America honors later that spring. Yurkovich put the nation on notice early in her junior season when she broke both the Oregon and Pac-10 javelin records with a throw of 191-1/58.24m at the 2008 Oregon Relays. That led to a third conference title as well as her first NCAA Championship. Her junior season continued with a bronze medal finish at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials (185-1). That was the last meet she lost as a collegian. As a senior in 2009, Yurkovich went a perfect seven-for-seven in javelin competitions, collecting victories at the Stanford Invitational, the Pepsi Team Invitational (meet record 187-11/57.29m), the Sea Ray Relays and the Oregon Relays. She then broke her own school and Pac-10 record in winning her fourth consecutive Pac-10 championship with a throw of 191-2/58.26m. She joined USC’s Inga Stasiulionyte as the only two women to win four consecutive Pac-10 javelin titles. In her final meet as a collegian at Hayward Field, Yurkovich captured the NCAA West Regional crown for her sixth win in a row. Then, in a masterful collegiate finale, the four-time All-American collected her second consecutive NCAA javelin title - and broke her own school and Pac-10 records in the process - with a colossal throw of 195-7/59.62m. After college, at the 2009 IAAF meet, Yurkovich became the first American woman to qualify for the javelin final at a World Championships since Karin Smith finished 10th in 1983. The Newberg, Ore., native went on to represent the United States in the 2012 Olympic Games.