Athlete of the Week: Olympic shot putter Payton Otterdahl preparing in Lincoln

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — American shot putter Payton Otterdahl, now a Lincoln resident, is preparing for his second Olympics in Paris.

The Rosemount, Minnesota, native and North Dakota State alum moved to Lincoln when his longtime coach, Justin St. Clair, took a job at Nebraska.

St. Clair has since become head coach of track and field.

“The University of Nebraska has top-notch facilities,” Otterdahl said. “It’s great to be able to use those. The coach-athlete relationship we’ve had just continues to develop.”

Otterdahl made his first Olympics in 2021 in Tokyo, on a throw that he will never forget.

“Getting to Trials in 2021 was one my favorite (memories),” he said. “It took a lifetime best to make the team. Making that first Olympic team feeling is unreal.”

Otterdahl has been working hard to compete in the Paris Olympics in late July and August, going through workouts and competitions throughout Europe.

“Almost all of our competitions are over in Europe,” he said. “After the Trials and the USA champs, there are usually not many opportunities to get to compete in the U.S., so we kind of have to come over there to Europe and compete.”

Otterdahl will head into the Olympics ranked 4th in the world, just outside of medal range.

But he is using that as a motivation in his quest for gold.

“I’m not a favorite to medal, so I feel like the pressure is not really on me,” Otterdahl said. “It’s an opportunity to sort of punch up above where I am right now and hopefully be able to get a U.S. sweep of the medals.”