Kim Beard

King’s HS, Mukilteo, WA, c/o 2026
AthleticNET Bio

Kim Beard got her introduction to sports early. It just so happens that her start began in an unconventional sport. She began with the hammer and discus at age 5. That’s correct, age 5. As she tells it.

“At the time my brother was in high school, and my father [Chris] was the throws coach at his school, I was only 5ish then and would come to practice with my dad. To keep me occupied he designed a small, wood discus for me. He traced a bagel on wood, cut it out and added a small washer to the top and bottom for added weight. He made  a 2 lb hammer out of anchor chain, cable, shackles and hammer handle. I also had a turbo javelin and a 6 pound shot. I competed for several years at all comers meets and was allowed to throw a special hammer meet with my brother.”

She even found throwing shoes.

“We found some at a thrift store or something when I was younger. They were some tiny itty bitty Nike throwing shoes that were size five or so. We still have those.” 

She still has the small hammer and discus from those early years as well.

With that early introduction Kim has been setting records along the way, getting coaching from parents who were throwers themselves.

Her mom, Donna [ nee MCDonough], was a trailblazer in the throwing world. She was a two time All-American in the javelin(‘84 & ‘85) at Azusa Pacific University. She picked up hammer throwing afterwards. She was often the only woman entered at the hammer events at track meets, so she would join the men throwers and was scored separately.

“It was always very congenial, the guys thought it was cool that a woman was throwing,” says Chris.

Kim’s hammer throw technique was unorthodox in those early years. As she tells it, her arms could not rise above her head when she was younger. Kids don’t have that ability since their bodies are disproportionate to the size of their heads. She’s been told because she doesn’t quite remember, “ Apparently I would just wind it in front of my face and then release it,” she says laughing.

She followed her mom’s trailblazing efforts in the hammer throwing. Because of her age, she would enter open/college events as no USATF or AAU hammer throw[ AAU doesn’t offer it at all at any age group] was offered until the age of 15 years old. You have to dig deep to find results or at least know that her marks are kept in the Direct Athletics database. As early as 9 years, 9 months and 20 days, Kim has marks recorded. That day, 10/01/17, she threw 95-11.

She kept improving and last year at the USATF JO National set the  15-16 year old meet record as an eighth grader. The mark,  a 154-06 toss.

She didn’t abandon the discus, javelin or shot put. She competed in the weight throw at age 12 and has done sprints, hurdles and even the long jump. 

She is a multi-talented kid outside of throwing. She plays the piano and ukulele, tap dances, craft/tinkers, paints using watercolors, cooks and bakes and volunteers at her church in student ministries. She hunts and fishes and also plays soccer and basketball. 

Her student ministry work has taken her to Jamaica over spring break. She helped rebuild a house and a church that was falling apart on the 11 day trip. They held an easter egg hunt and painted the restrooms. She has also gone to Mexico to do construction work and has acquired the skills needed in building houses from the ground up.

Getting back to the hammer, she had another record breaking year this past season. She entered the Nike Outdoor Nationals with a mark of 169-01 and proceeded to win with a throw of 168-01. At the USATF National JO Championships in Eugene, OR on July 30, she hurled the hammer 176-01(53.68) on her third attempt. She finished with a 175-06 on her fifth attempt. Her furthest mark erased the freshman mark of 173-04 set by Casey Kraychir in 2007, eclipsed the national 15-16 record of 167-09 set by Danielle Gregory in 2017, and improved her USATF 15-16 meet record.

With so many accomplishments behind her already, she sees room for improvement. Her upper body strength needs some work and so she plans to work on that. She didn’t show much interest in doing weight initially, but now has found a program that works for her. She has a home gym she uses and she sees weightlifting as the next step in her progression.

“My dad had been trying to get me to do  it, but I wasn't crazy interested in it.  Now I know to make the next steps in my training and distances and stuff, I have to get  started. Hopefully, I’ll get more into it and try to find ways to make it more enjoyable.”

In the meantime, she will split  time training between soccer and basketball seasons. In the colder months, the local YMCA has indoor racquetball courts she uses for training. Her father has fashioned medicine balls with hose, duct tape and handles on them she trains with. She’s looking forward to doing the weight throw at Nike Indoor Nationals this upcoming season.

This year has been a good one for her. She met her goal of going over 170 feet officially. By her junior year, she’d like to go over 200 feet.

“My biggest goal is getting stronger,“ she says. “ My dad thinks I can throw 200 feet by my junior year.”