EUGENE, Ore. — Shelby Frank’s post-collegiate athletic career is already off to a great start.
The Grand Forks native and former Red River thrower earned a spot in the World Athletic Championships over the weekend at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. Frank placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 200 feet, 6 inches, beating out former Olympians to claim a spot with Team USA.
The World Athletics Championship will be held in Tokyo Sept. 13-21, welcoming more than 2,000 athletes from across the world. Frank will represent Team USA at the event alongside Valerie Allman, Laulauga Tausaga-Collins and Gabi Jacobs.
Allman, who took first place in the discus at the outdoor championships (234 feet, 5 inches), is a former Olympian who captured gold medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics.
Allman is currently the No. 1 discus thrower in the world, according to the World Athletics rankings. Frank is slotted in at No. 29 in those same rankings.
Frank recently finished her collegiate career at Texas Tech, capping it off with top-three finishes in both the discus and the hammer throw at the NCAA Division I outdoor track and field championships.
Frank currently holds the program’s outdoor record in the discus (203 feet, 10 inches) and the hammer (230 feet, 10 inches). She also holds the Red Raiders’ outdoor record in the weight throw (76 feet, 11 inches).
Before her season with Texas Tech, Frank spent four years at Minnesota, where she collected a bevy of accolades. Frank still holds the Golden Gophers’ outdoor track and field program record in the discus with her throw of 200 feet, 11 inches in 2024. Her throw of 226 feet, 7 inches in the hammer is the second best in program history, while her throw of 79 feet, 2.5 inches in the weight throw ranks third.
With college out of the way, Frank hopes her future athletic career will
include a stop at the Olympics
. She has already competed in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, becoming the only woman in 2024 to reach the finals in both the discus and the hammer throw.
Alex Faber is a sports reporter for the Grand Forks Herald. A Michigan transplant, he graduated from Michigan State University in 2024 with a degree in journalism and minors in history and environmental studies.
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