Ohio State senior thrower Adelaide Aquilla competes at the Big Ten Championship on Feb. 26. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Dept. of Athletics
It’s been a whirlwind of a year for Adelaide Aquilla, but her story goes beyond her status as a NCAA national champion and Olympian.
The senior thrower joined the Ohio State track and field program as a walk-on, incorporating perseverance and dedication in her craft to build herself an incredible career. With multiple national titles and an Olympic appearance just over the course of the past year, Aquilla was voted best female athlete by readers of The Lantern.
Reflecting on her incredible season, Aquilla pointed to a three-week span in which she achieved numerous athletic goals.
“We were out in Oregon for 21 days and during those 21 days, I won a national championship and became an Olympian for life,” Aquilla said. “It was kinda weird how the second part overshadows all the other accomplishments that I did this season. But, it’s truly a great feeling to represent Ohio State at the highest level.”
Prior to reaching Tokyo, Aquilla made a name for herself at the collegiate level.
Aquilla’s command over the collegiate throwing landscape began with a 2020 Big Ten Indoor Title, but due to the season being cut short by the pandemic, she was unable to carry that momentum into an indoor national title and outdoor season.
But the Magnificat High School product said the pandemic played in her favor and allowed her to fast-track her throwing career.
“I wasn’t really physically as good as I am now, and my technique wasn’t as good as it is now,” Aquilla said. “Through the quarantine and all of that stuff, I really improved myself and all of my technique, my strength levels and everything to really jump the next level again to become an Olympian.”
The Rocky River, Ohio, native was crowned an NCAA National Champion twice in the 2020-21 season — earning both the indoor and outdoor titles in the season.
Her collegiate dominance was years in the making as Aquilla slowly moved up the ranks from a freshman walk-on all the way up to a nationally recognized Olympian.
“For me to jump levels, I had to accept in myself that I was good enough to get to the next level,” Aquilla said. “I really had to focus on how I perceived myself and what I wanted to do at the next level.”
After earning the 2021 NCAA outdoor throwing title in Eugene, Oregon, June 9, Aquilla remained in the Beaver State for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Prior to the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign, Aquilla said she originally planned to finish in the top five at the trials. But after her mastery at the collegiate level, she quickly pivoted her goal to qualifying for Tokyo.
Aquilla accomplished her new goal, finishing third at the trials and punching her ticket to Tokyo.
“I was so overwhelmed when I qualified. I started crying right as I was walking into the ring. I could not focus on my throw to save my life,” Aquilla said. “Doing the victory lap, which was awesome to see all the people coming out to support.”
In Tokyo, Aquilla threw a top throw of 17.68 meters, which was good for 20th in the qualifying round. However, she was unable to earn a spot to compete in the medal stages.
Ohio State assistant track and field coach Ashley Kovacs said Aquilla made an incredible transition from the time she arrived in Columbus as a walk-on to her appearance at the Olympics as an accomplished athlete.
“She’s nowhere near the same athlete that she was when she came on campus. Even who she was as a recruit, she’s just developed so much in such a short period of time,” Kovacs said. “You have a goal for an athlete, an endgame goal for an athlete, and she’s surpassed all of the benchmarks I set for her so quickly. I think a lot of that is a testament to how willing she was to be fully committed to the process.”
