Six Huskers part of Olympic track and field at Paris

With the Opening Ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 26, six current and former Huskers are preparing to compete in their respective track and field events.

Nick Percy (Ventnor, England) is making his Olympics debut, representing Great Britain in the discus. A five-time British Champion and the 2016 NCAA Discus Champion, Percy threw 67.73m in the discus, the second-furthest throw of all time by a British athlete on his first day of competition at the Oklahoma Throws Series in April 2024. After winning the discus silver medal at the 2024 British Athletics Championships, Percy was named to the Great Britain team for the 2024 Summer Olympics. During his time at Nebraska, Percy was a four-time All-American, three-time Big Ten Champion and the 2017 Nebraska Male Athlete of the Year. He'll begin competing in the qualification round of the discus on Aug. 5.

On Aug. 7, Rhema Otabor and Maggie Malone-Hardin will take on the javelin qualification round. Representing the Bahamas, Otabor won her second-straight NCAA javelin title in June, breaking the collegiate record, NCAA meet record, school record and Bahamian record with a 210-7 (64.19m). Before defending her NCAA title, she went back-to-back at the Big Ten Championships, winning the javelin title with a 189-6 (57.75m). Malone-Hardin (Geneva, Neb.) is making her third trip to the Olympics after winning the Olympic Trials for the third time. Representing Team USA, Malone-Hardin competed at Nebraska for two years before transferring to Texas A&M for her final two years. She is currently a volunteer assistant coach at Nebraska. Malone-Hardin is a four-time All-American, the 2016 NCAA Javelin Champion and a two-time conference champion.

Axelina Johansson (Hok, Sweden) and Miné De Klerk (Welkom, South Africa) are set to compete in the shot put qualification round on Aug. 8. Johansson is a four-time First-Team All-American, the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Shot Put Champion and a two-time NCAA bronze medalist. She was recently named a First-Team Academic All-American, a year after being named to the second team. After Johansson's NCAA title last season, she was named the Big Ten Women's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year and the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year. De Klerk just completed her first year competing with the Huskers, marked by winning the Big Ten Indoor shot put title, claiming the bronze at Big Ten Outdoors and earning her first-career First-Team All-America honor at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Petra Luteran will represent Hungary in the Paralympics, taking place Aug. 30-Sept. 8. Luteran graduated from Nebraska in 2020 as an All-American high jumper. After losing her arm in a UTV accident in 2022, Luteran has taken on and excelled in para-athletics.

Four-time First-Team All-American, Nebraska school record holder and two-time Big Ten Champion Till Steinforth is a decathlon alternate for Germany.

The NBC broadcast schedule is available here, with live results linked here.

Nebraska Track & Field 2024 Paris Olympics Schedule (all times central)

Aug. 5 (3:10 a.m. or 4:35 a.m.) - Nick Percy (Great Britain), Discus Qualification

Aug. 7 (3:25 a.m. or 4:50 a.m.) - Rhema Otabor (Bahamas) & Maggie Malone-Hardin (USA), Javelin Qualification

Aug. 7 (1:25 p.m.) - Nick Percy (Great Britain), Discus Final

Aug. 8 (3:25 a.m.) - Axelina Johansson (Sweden) & Mine De Klerk (South Africa), Shot Put Qualification

Aug. 9 (12:40 p.m.) - Axelina Johansson (Sweden) & Mine De Klerk (South Africa), Shot Put Final

Aug. 10 (12:40 p.m.) - Rhema Otabor (Bahamas) & Maggie Malone-Hardin (USA), Javelin Final