Orono, Maine -- Former Black Bears Nathaniel Meade ('14) and Julian Hubbard ('16) will be competing at the USATF Olympic Trails at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. on June 19 at 5:15 PT/8:15 ET. Each former student-athlete will be taking part in the triple jump event as they both look to earn a spot on Team USA for upcoming 2021 Olympic Games. Saturday's event will be broadcast live on NBCSN.
Meade, who graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in electrical engineering, currently holds Maine's school record in both the outdoor triple jump, with a mark of 15.30 set at the 2014 ECACs, and in the indoor triple jump (15.07). Meade originally hails from Waldoboro, Maine and attended Medomak, and Valley High School. Hubbard, who graduated from UMaine in 2016, currently sits seventh on Maine's all-time outdoor triple jump top-10 list with a mark of 14.33 set in 2015 and sixth on the indoor triple jump top-10 list at 14.61. Hubbard, originally from Windsor, Maine, attended Cony High School. Both currently compete with the Boston North Track Club.
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Meade credits his development at UMaine in helping him advance to the opportunity he has to compete at the Olympic Trials.
"Training at UMaine was essential in my development as an athlete and really gave me a passion for the triple jump," says Meade. "The most important piece I took from UMaine was my mindset and level of belief in myself. I truly believe what the mind can conceive, it can achieve. I also discovered that my limits were far beyond what I thought possible."
Following his graduation, Meade took a break from training before picking it up in 2016. He resumed his training and went on to set a new personal record (PR) during indoor competition that season.
"At that point, I set my sights higher to the Trials because I knew I was capable of so much more. I've trained and competed every year since then, indoor and outdoor, while working full-time. I've had setbacks and injuries, but every setback is just an opportunity to evolved; a trial to prepare me for the next level.
To qualify for Team USA, Meade and Hubbard must finish in the top three at the USATF Olympic Trials and meet the Olympic standard mark in the triple jump at 16.66m.
-UMaine-
