Penny Lou Neer (born November 7, 1960) is a former American collegiate and Olympic athlete in discus throwing, basketball and softball. A native of Hillsdale, Michigan, Neer came to the University of Michigan on a basketball scholarship and became a three-sport star. She earned a total of eight varsity letters at U-M in basketball, track and field, and softball. In three seasons on Michigan's varsity basketball team, Neer scored 456 points and recorded 64 blocks. During her junior year, she became U-M's first woman All-American in track and field, and as a senior, Neer became the first female athlete from the University of Michigan to win a national title in a track and field event—winning in the discus at the 1982

Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

(AIAW) outdoor championship. Neer was a two-time AIAW All-American and a three-time Big Ten Conference discus champion, winning Big Ten championships in 1980, 1981 and 1982. She was ranked second in the United States in the discus throw in 1985 and again in 1991 and was ranked in the top ten for eleven straight years from 1982 to 1992. Neer also holds the Michigan discus record and was named to the Big Ten All-Decade team. Neer did not make the 1984 or 1988 Olympic teams, but continued to compete in the discus and made the 1992 Olympic team at age 33. She was the first U-M woman to qualify for the Olympics in a field event. Though she did not place at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in Barcelona with a disappointing throw of , she was only the fourth American woman to throw the discus more than 200 feet. She broke the 200-foot mark at the 1985 Pacific Coast Championships with a throw of . Neer later became an MRP Analyst/Scheduler for Venture Industries. She was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 2002.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neer, Penny 1960 births Living people American female discus throwers American female shot putters American women's basketball players Michigan Wolverines women's track and field athletes Michigan Wolverines women's basketball players Michigan Wolverines softball players Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1983 Pan American Games People from Hillsdale, Michigan Basketball players from Michigan Softball players from Michigan Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games

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