From basement in Carter to warehouse in Belgrade, Olympic dreams had humble beginnings
LINDSAY ROSSMILLER
406 MT Sports
4 min to read
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In the 1960s, Livingston native Larry Questad was one of the fastest humans in the world.
Photo courtesy Picasa
The hills of Butte served as two-time Olympian Levi Leipheimer's early training ground, part of which typically included riding races up the hill to Walkerville.
JOSEPH SCHELLER
Montana Standard
Pole vaulter Leila Ben-Youssef was a three-time state champion for the Sidney Eagles when she graduated in 2000 (the same year women's pole vaulting was added to the Olympic program for the first time) and had a longer start in the sport because Montana was one of the first states to add women's pole vaulting. She went on to compete for Stanford University and elected to compete for her father's country of Tunisia at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in just the third time the event was held at the Olympics.
Courtesy Chris Lee
Memorial Stadium in Great Falls is a familiar venue for many track and field athletes around the state who have competed there at some point during their high school careers with the state track meet regularly rotating through. It was also the home of high jumper Pam Spencer. She went on to become a three-time U.S. champion, set the U.S. record twice and competed at two Olympics (1976 Montreal, 1984 Los Angeles), but technically made the team three times although the U.S. boycotted the 1980 games in Moscow.
GARY MARSHALL
bmgphotos.com
The Gallatin Valley Sharp Shooters warehouse facility is pictured on Wednesday, July 25, 2024.
Gavin Derkatch
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BILLINGS — Somewhere between Whitewater and the Missouri River Breaks this past spring, I started thinking about the variety of places that athletes from Montana hone their crafts.
The hills of Butte served as two-time Olympian Levi Leipheimer's early training ground, part of which typically included riding races up the hill to Walkerville.
Pole vaulter Leila Ben-Youssef was a three-time state champion for the Sidney Eagles when she graduated in 2000 (the same year women's pole vaulting was added to the Olympic program for the first time) and had a longer start in the sport because Montana was one of the first states to add women's pole vaulting. She went on to compete for Stanford University and elected to compete for her father's country of Tunisia at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in just the third time the event was held at the Olympics.
Memorial Stadium in Great Falls is a familiar venue for many track and field athletes around the state who have competed there at some point during their high school careers with the state track meet regularly rotating through. It was also the home of high jumper Pam Spencer. She went on to become a three-time U.S. champion, set the U.S. record twice and competed at two Olympics (1976 Montreal, 1984 Los Angeles), but technically made the team three times although the U.S. boycotted the 1980 games in Moscow.
