Former North Dakota State Track & Field shot put thrower, Payton Otterdahl, and Women’s Basketball player, Marina Whittle, are completing in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Otterdahl placed third in the U.S. Olympic Trials for track & field, qualifying himself for the Olympics for the second time. He qualified with a throw of 73-00.50 (22.26m). The NDSU track & field program has now qualified an athlete to four consecutive Summer Olympics. Otterdahl, who also qualified for the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, joins Amanda Smock (2012, London, triple jump) and Erin Teschuk (2016, Rio, 3000m steeplechase) as former Bison to qualify for the past four olympics.
The shot put event is scheduled for August 2-3 in Paris.
Whittle will play for the Australian Women’s 3×3 Basketball Team. She played for the Bison from 2012-16 tallying 1,315 points and 921 rebounds while also earning a spot on the All-Summit League First Team in 2016.
The 3×3 basketball competition will take place from July 30 to August 5 at the La Concorde venue in Paris.
3×3 basketball debuted in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The game is played on one half of a basketball court with two teams of three players compete. The winning team will either reach 21 points of have the highest score after a 10-minute period, whichever comes first. The traditional three-point line serves as the two-point line for the game, with made shots inside the line being worth one point.
NDSU’s Summer Olympians
Brad Rheingans (1976, Montreal, Greco-Roman heavyweight, USA)
John Morgan (1988, Seoul, Greco-Roman middleweight, USA)
Janet Cobbs (1992, Barcelona, volleyball, USA)
Tamara Brudy (1996, Atlanta, 4x400m relay, Saint Kitts and Nevis)
Amanda Smock (2012, London, triple jump, USA)
Erin Teschuk (2016, Rio, 3000m steeplechase, Canada)
Payton Otterdahl (2021, Tokyo, shot put, USA)
Payton Otterdahl (2024, Paris, shot put, USA)
Marena Whittle (2024, Paris, 3×3 basketball, Australia)
