For the first time ever on Husky Talk, we had a former Olympian as a guest, UConn Track and Field legend Bethany Hart Gerry. Bethany is extremely busy with her career and family; we appreciate the time she gave us.

Bethany grew up in a small town of Grafton, Massachusetts and always played sports. She did not see herself as a great athlete, it was her work ethic that set her apart. Bethany and her twin sister took to Track and Field where they competed at the varsity level as freshmen.

Bethany threw shot put, discuss, and ran the 100-meter dash. She improved tremendously throughout high school, her parents pushed the value of having a great education and her interest was in Physical Therapy. Unfortunately, she was not accepted to Ithaca and Northeastern, but found her calling as a Husky, just in Storrs at UConn.

On a visit, she ran into a track coach purely on accident and mentioned that she competed as well. Bethany started indoor as a walk-on and the rest is history. Although, she wanted to perform more events, Bethany excelled at the Hammer Throw. It was not offered in Massachusetts, but she took to it like a duck to water. UConn kept her as a walk-on, then she progressed to a partial scholarship to finally achieving a full scholarship her last few years.

Talk about someone who EARNED everything she achieved, Bethany always had a desire with a strong work ethic, which is why she pushed herself past her limits in the weight room. She knew in order to move or throw heavy objects; she was going to have to lift and become as powerful as possible to be the best. Taking a day off became almost tragic because she felt like she wasn't doing enough to improve.

Bethany has a legendary career at UConn in the Hammer Throw. She was a Big East Champion, she placed at Nationals and was multi-time All American. Bethany overall is one of the best athletes to come out of UConn ever. She studied athletic training which helped her learn how to be proactive and prevent injuries, as well as heal them.

She trained for the Olympics in the Hammer Throw as well but was introduced to the Bobsled event. She had the speed and strength that made her a perfect fit. Bethany trained for Bobsledding as she was getting her master's degree.

In 2006, it was the first time the Olympics did a female bobsledding competition. She made the team and was featured competing on the largest stage in the world.

One of her proudest moments recently was going back to UConn and seeing a monument put up to honor our athletes who went to the Olympics'. She was there with her family, and it was beautiful.

Bethany was a gifted athlete, her desire, determination, passion and belief that she could outwork anyone is a huge reason she experienced success. These days, she has her own personal training business. She likes to work with moms and help them with their goals. Bethany has done CrossFit, another avenue to train.

Talk about a special journey, Bethany went from a college walk on to Olympian and is the greatest women's Hammer Thrower in UConn history. Congratulations!

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