Julia Ratcliffe ’16 made history June 11 with a victory in the hammer throw at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. Her fifth-round heave traveled 219 feet, 5 inches — nearly seven feet farther than the second-place mark.
The New Zealand native is the first individual national champion for Princeton women’s track and field. Her victory also extended a notable streak for Princeton athletics: In 43 consecutive years, at least one Tiger team or individual has won a national championship.
Ratcliffe was well aware of the streak. “The last several weeks on campus, people kept coming up to me and saying, ‘You’re our last hope!’” she laughed. “So I tried not to think about it much. But it is like an added bonus now.”