Adelaide Aquilla Bet On Herself, And Ohio State Helped Her Make The Big Leap To The Olympics

Adelaide Aquilla prepares to compete in the women's shot put qualification round at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on July 30, 2021 in Tokyo.

The high-level training and competition come with being a part of the strong Ohio State program, she said. Title IX, the landmark gender equality legislation that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month, has also played a key role in her development, and she credits Ohio State with creating a supportive environment in which female athletes can thrive.

The Buckeyes have a woman as the head coach of track and field for both men and women in Karen Dennis. In addition, Aquilla’s former throws coach with Ohio State was Ashley Kovacs, a former NCAA All-American shot putter now coaching at Vanderbilt. Kovacs’ husband is Joe Kovacs, a two-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist in the shot put.

“They have so many great opportunities, and to have our head coach be a woman is just an amazing experience and it shows just how far we’ve come as a country and how far we can continue to improve,” said Aquilla, who finished 20th in her Olympic debut in Tokyo last year.

With world-class athletes, coaches and performance specialists, there is a great sense of equality within the Buckeyes program, Aquilla said. That lends itself to friendly competition between the men and women.

“It’s like a great little push during practice,” Aquilla said. “One of the guys that I have a current little bet (with) going on: Who’s going to throw 20 meters first? If I lose, I have to dye part of my hair, and if he loses, I get to braid his hair for one of the meets.

“So it’s a lot of little fun things going on. The resources are very equal, and it’s a great experience to be here and compete with the highest-level athletes.”

It’s not hard for Aquilla to envision her career turning out differently had she not gone to Ohio State. In addition to the facilities, coaching and top-level competition, she cited the athletic department’s resources that extend beyond the competition field, such as mental health services.

“If I had gone to these smaller schools, obviously the level wouldn’t have been as high and it would have been more difficult to make this jump,” she said.  

Already holding school and Big Ten records, Aquilla set a facility record with a throw of 19.09 meters in last week’s NCAA Regional meet at Indiana University, more than one meter further than anyone else. That cemented her ticket to the NCAA championships at the University of Oregon for one last time.

“We head to Eugene on Sunday June 5th so I’m very excited to get out to Oregon, test out the ring and see the beautiful Hayward Field once more, train for world trials and then hopefully make the world team,” Aquilla said. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. This is my last outdoors, so I’m looking to make the most of it and have fun with this great competition at NCAAs.”