Former North Dakota State NCAA champion thrower Payton Otterdahl will become the first Bison athlete to compete at a pair of Olympic Games when he throws the shot put for Team USA this weekend in Paris.
The men’s shot put qualification round will be held Friday, Aug. 2, at 1:10 p.m. CT, with the finals scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 3, at 12:35 p.m. CT.
Otterdahl enters the Olympics as the No. 4 performer in the world this year, with his personal-best mark of 74-01.50 (22.59m) coming at the Drake Relays this April. When the world’s top five shot putters met at the London Diamond League meet earlier this month, Otterdahl claimed third place.
Otterdahl finished 10th in the shot put at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 before placing fifth at the World Championships in 2023. He competed for NDSU from 2015-19, setting the collegiate indoor shot put record and winning NCAA indoor titles in the shot put and weight throw in 2019.
Otterdahl is one of eight former NDSU athletes to compete in the Summer Olympic Games, but he becomes the first Bison to qualify for two different Olympics. With Amanda Smock (2012, London, triple jump) and Erin Teschuk (2016, Rio, 3000m steeplechase), the NDSU track & field program has now qualified an athlete to four consecutive Summer Olympics.
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)