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Anchor text: Janee' Kassanavoid, a Kansas State All-American and Nike professional athlete along with the No. 3 competitor in American history as well as No. 6 all-time in the world in the women's hammer throw, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss competing at her first World Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. Kassanavoid, a native American athlete representing the Comanche tribe, became only the sixth female athlete in history to produce a 78-meter throw May 21 with her 255-11 effort (78.00m) at the USATF Throws Festival in Tucson, Ariz., and enters July 15 qualifying as the No. 3 performer in the world this year. She is scheduled to join reigning World champion DeAnna Price, defending national champion Brooke Andersen and Annette Echikunwoke in representing the host country, looking to produce multiple women's hammer throw medals for the U.S. for the first time at a global final. Kassanavoid, 27, revisits winning her first weight throw national title in February at the USATF Indoor Championships at The Podium in Spokane, Wash., but not competing at the World Indoor Championships in March in Belgrade, Serbia, since the event is not contested at the global final. She also reflects on finishing fourth at the U.S. Olympic Trials last year and the motivation and inspiration it created to compete at the World Championships this year following her first national team experience at The Match in 2019 in Belarus. Kassanavoid examines the lifting she put in during the COVID-19 pandemic in her sister's garage in Louisiana, along with the training she completed at local parks, and the foundation it created for her improvement the past three years. She speaks about her collaboration with veteran coach Greg Watson and how several technical improvements have combined with her strength and speed in the ring to elevate to one of the elite competitors in the history of the event. Kassanavoid explains how significant it is to have the support of Nike and being an N7 athlete and having the opportunity to be given a platform to highlight the success of Native American, indigenous and Comanche women. She also shares how meaningful it would be to represent her family and its athletic history with a medal.

Wikipedia: Janee' Kassanavoid