At the top of Women's Weight (Indoor) and Hammer Throw (Outdoor), Conference USA Field Star and Rice University junior Tara Simpson-Sullivan continues to rewrite the record book. At the Conference USA Indoor Championship, Simpson-Sullivan bested her own school and personal record while setting a new standard for the indoor meet. This accomplishment is just another milestone for the level-headed thrower. 

“I'm grateful for any kind of accolade or honors that kind of comes with those things,” Simpson-Sullivan said. “It's a cherry on top. [But] I would compete without any kind of honors because I just enjoy it so much.”

Simpson-Sullivan first started throwing back in her small hometown of Penrith, England. In her “old, quaint town,” there were not a lot of opportunities to play top level sports. As Simpson-Sullivan progressed, she had to travel for two hours to train at a bigger club with better coaches. 

“The reason I only trained once a week was because it was so expensive… I have had a part time job since I was 14, just to be able to help my mom because I grew up with a single parent.” 

Traveling up and down the country helped open Simpson-Sullivan to the possibility of competing in the U.S. Enticed by the opportunity to receive a scholarship, eager to have consistent training, and curious to explore more parts of the world, Simpson-Sullivan decided that to truly advance her athletics she needed to go to school in the U.S. 

“As soon as I had spoken to a few people in the States already and did my own research,” she said, “I was like, ‘There's no way I can let this opportunity go because I know I would regret it if I didn't take that leap and take that chance.'”

With the help of a sports recruiting agent who sent her information to schools in America, Simpson-Sullivan had a quick and relatively smooth recruiting process. After sending out her information at the start of her senior year, Simpson-Sullivan was being flown into universities by her 18th birthday in December. One obstacle she did have to tackle was saying no to a school that was pushing her towards a new event. 

Related: 5 Recruiting Tips from Track Athlete, Gabby Scott

“Washington State definitely wanted to push the weight [throw] more, which is an event that I hadn't ever done before,” she explained. It's an American event you do indoors. I wanted to come here for hammer because that's the event that I do.”

Ultimately, Simpson-Sullivan decided to commit to Rice University. International students come to Rice three days before orientation to help with the adjustment.  Simpson-Sullivan recalls her struggles with the humidity. 

“The humidity was probably the hardest part to get used to here…It was brutal. It was not fun.”

Out of the gate, Simpson-Sullivan describes her training as pretty intense: “[In the] off-season, which is when we first come back in August to about mid October/November, I do four to five days a week… throwing all of those days and then weight training twice a week.”

While she enjoys practicing, she really comes alive for competition.

“I really enjoy training but the competitions that's where it's at,” she said “I really love competing. I'm a competitor, through and through.” 

When asked about what ignites her competitive fire, Simpson-Sullivan continues, “It's just a chance to prove yourself. You put in all of that hard work and those three to six throws are really the chance that you get to show everybody all that work that you've been doing.”

Her 22.15m mark at February's Indoor C-USA Championship was 2.29m ahead of her closest competitor. Nonetheless, Simpson-Sullivan's resolve to improve and compete remains resolute. “When you're at that [top] level, people are chasing you, and it really puts that target on your back,” she said. “But that's also another big motivator. Once you get there, you want to stay there.” 

To keep her going through any tough times, Simpson-Sullivan relies on the support of her family for additional motivation. She credits her mom for allowing her to be in a position to succeed in the sport and acknowledges the sacrifices she had to make. Her biggest fan, though, may be her grandma. 

“I got [my grandma] a race t-shirt and she wears that t-shirt every single time I'm competing,” Simpson-Sullivan revealed, and said her grandma likes to text her before meets to let her know she's wearing it and to wish her good luck. “The time difference is like six hours, so if she's going to bed, she'll go to bed in the T-shirt. It is the sweetest thing ever.”

When Simpson-Sullivan manages to get some time to herself, she reads fiction, writes poetry, and advocates for body positivity. “I'm a big body positivity advocate on social media,” she said. “As a female athlete, especially in throws, we get a lot of stick and stereotypes to look a certain way, which can be hard, especially in this day and age.”

She is also passionate about sustainable fashion and putting on cute fits. 

“I'm really into fashion, [and] especially, in the last couple of months, sustainable fashion,” she said, adding that she peruses thrift stores “a lot” a lot to stay sustainable. “A lot of the time I'm in track stuff,” she added. “When I do have the chance, I like to be able to show my personality through the clothes that I'm wearing.” 

As for what is next in Simpson-Sullivan's career, she is looking towards the international stage. 

“My big goal is the 2024 Olympics,” she said. “There's [also] three major championships that I could potentially be selected for [this year]: the World's, the Commonwealth, and then the European Championships. I would like to make it to two out of the three.”

Regardless of what may happen, Simpson-Sullivan knows she wants to continue throwing. 

“You see a lot of people that get good at something and continue doing it because they're good at it and not because they enjoy it anymore,” she observed. “I love it. I love what I'm doing and I hope I continue to love what I'm doing for as long as my body sees fit.”

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* Originally published on April 14, 2022, by Chloe Singer