Amanda Smock (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Thieschafer, born July 27, 1982) is an American

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

er who competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. In college, she was a three-time NCAA Division II track and field champion. She won the triple jump events at the United States Outdoor Championships in 2011 and 2012, and at the Indoor Championships in 2011.

Early life

Smock was born Amanda Thieschafer on July 27, 1982, to parents Beth and Glen Thieschafer. She grew up in a small town in rural Minnesota -

Melrose, Minnesota Melrose is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,598 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the St. Cloud, Minnesota, St. Cloud St. Cloud metropolitan area, Metrop ...

, where she began competing in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

at age 4. "There was this movie called ''

Nadia Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: Uk ...

'' after

Nadia Comăneci Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast and a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10. ...

, and I must have watched that thing 1,000 times," Smock later remarked. "I definitely was going to be an Olympic gymnast." Although her father was a gymnastics coach, eventually she realized she was better suited for

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, giving up on gymnastics as a teenager. In high school, she excelled at

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

, and sprinting events. Smock graduated from Melrose High School in 2000. She attended

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

for college on an athletic scholarship, graduating in 2004. In college, she was a three-time

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

triple jump champion.

Athletic career

Smock qualified for the 2008 Olympic Track and Field Trials, but finished fifth and failed to make the Olympic team. After the meet, her father took his credential and replaced the "2008" with "2012." He died shortly after the Trials, but Smock placed the credential where she would see it daily as a form of motivation. In 2011, Smock placed first in the triple jump at the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olym ...

with a jump of . However, her jump was just short of the B standard needed to participate in the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. A few days before the American team was announced, she jumped a new personal best of , allowing her to compete at Worlds. She failed to make the final at the World Championships, finishing 31st of 34 competitors. At the 2011 Indoor Championships, she finished second in the triple jump with a distance of . In 2012, she won the indoor championship with a distance of , qualifying her for the

2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the 14th edition of the global-level indoor track and field competition and was held between March 9–11, 2012 at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first of four ...

. At Worlds, she finished 26th of 30 competitors. At the

Olympic Trials Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

, which also served as the National Championships, she won the event with a jump of and qualified for the

in London. At the games, she failed to advance out of the qualifying round of competition. Her best of three attempts was , well short of the necessary to advance. Of her performance, she remarked "To be here at the Olympic Games is awesome, and I think with each passing year this is going to mean more and more, and the performance will kind of fade away." She was the lone female triple jump representative for the United States at the games. Smock said she would continue to compete for another year at least, but said it was unlikely she would try for another Olympics. In 2014, Smock won the

2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships was held at Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Organised by USA Track and Field (USATF), the three-day competition took place February 21–23 in conjunction with the USA Ind ...

Triple Jump in 13.81 m (45 ft 31⁄2 in) but failed to qualify to the

2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the fifteenth edition of the international indoor track and field competition, organised by the IAAF. The event was held between 7–9 March 2014 at the Ergo Arena in Sopot, Poland. Prepar ...

– Women's triple jump. However, in 2015, she again took the indoor national title in the women's triple jump for the fourth consecutive season, beating her own personal best with a jump of . Amanda finished 5th with a jump of in triple jump at

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 25–28 and served as the national championships in ...

Personal life

Amanda Smock has been married to former college teammate Greg Smock since 2009. She is part of the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Travers ...

Track Team and is sponsored by Asics. Amanda has worked as a partner at a small business specializing in corporate wellness programs. She considers herself blessed to not have to try to balance work and training. She celebrated her 30th birthday on July 27, the opening day of the Olympic Games in 2012. Smock is also a coach for

Macalester College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S te ...

's track and field team, coaching long jump and triple jump.

References

External links

* * * * *
Blog
following Amanda's Olympic journey by her mother, Beth Thieschafer {{DEFAULTSORT:Smock, Amanda 1982 births Living people American female triple jumpers People from Melrose, Minnesota Sportspeople from Minnesota Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American women North Dakota State Bison women's track and field athletes