The Santa Barbara Track Club is hosting a community event on Saturday to support and celebrate U.S. Olympian Barbara Nwaba, who will be competing in the heptathlon at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Nwaba, a UCSB alum, is the club’s first Olympic qualifier. She won the heptathlon title at the USA Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Ore.
To celebrate her achievement, the SBTC on Saturday, July 23 is staging the “Pathway of the Podium” at Westmont College at 9:30 a.m. The event will include an obstacle course, 800-meter time trial and a friends & family 4×400 relay. The activities are open to all ages. Entry fee is $10 per event, or families can purchase a pack of three tickets for $16.
If supporters cannot make the event but would like to support the Santa Barbara Track Club’s trip to the 2016 Olympic Games, you can look into the following options:
T-Shirt Campaign – https://www.booster.com/SBTCRoadToRio
Santa Barbara Track Club online donations – http://santabarbaratc.com/donate/
Here is a description of the events planned for Saturday:
Pathway to the Podium Obstacle Course (1 Ticket): You’ll be racing through the rain forest, crawling under barriers, sprinting around the trees, hitting targets on the road to your destination – The Rio Olympics Games. Action begins at 9:30 a.m.
800m Time Trial (1 Ticket): Race the 800m in our community race around the track. Barbara Nwaba has a personal best in the 800m of 2:07 and to punch her ticket to the Rio Olympic Games, she clocked a 2:11!. Can you beat her time? Races begin at 10 a.m.
Friends & Family 4x400m (1 Ticket): We’ll supply the relay baton – you supply the team! Pick your order and get the squad warmed up by 10:10. The race begins at 10:15. One lap per team member; if you only have three, someone can run twice.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.