After a decade of dreaming, Kennesaw State University student heading to Olympics

KENNESAW, Ga. - The Tokyo Olympics are now just a few weeks away after being postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Kennesaw State University master's student Daniel Haugh, going to Japan is fulfilling a dream and a promise he made nearly a decade ago.

"I remember being at my best friend's the Tingley family's house. And we were watching the 2012 opening ceremonies. And I remember sitting there and saying ‘I want to do that. I want to be in that opening ceremony one day,'" Haugh says.

Now almost 10 years since that moment, Haugh will be representing Team USA in the hammer throw. Right now, the Georgia native is rank fifth in the world.

"So the hammer throw is pretty much the shot put. It's a 16-pound ball on a 3-foot-long wire with a handle, you spin it around in a circle and throw it as hard as you can," he said.

Haugh got into the sport his sophomore year in high school after he suffered a concussion playing football. He says that injury caused him to have bleeding on the brain, leading him to choose a different path. 

"A lot of the football guys ran track and field. They threw the shot put - all the bigger stronger guys," he said. "I thought if I can't play football, I can still hang out with my friends and throw this shot put and discus thing."

Turns out, it was more than just being able to hang out with his buddies.

He set some records along the way - becoming the first person at his high school to become the national champion in the discus and hammer throw.

Haugh then went on to the University of Alabama and made a statement there as well.

"Going to Alabama I was a two-time SEC champion, 3-time All American," he said.

Once he graduated, Haugh headed back to Georgia to earn his master's at Kennesaw State and to bring his talents to the Owls' track and field team.

His dad Jordan says witnessing his son qualify for the Olympics was the best Father's Day gift ever.

"He was finally there. After 10 years he finally made it. It was a dream come true," he said.

Now Haugh is just weeks away from heading to Tokyo and achieving the dream of a lifetime. 

"Right now it's just fighting for a top 3 spot at the games - to get a medal for Kennesaw State, for the Owls, for the United States," he said.

Haugh usually spends about seven to eight hours a day practicing, but during Olympic training it scales back to about five hours.

WATCH: FOX 5 Atlanta live news coverage

_____

Sign up for FOX 5 email alerts

Download the FOX 5 Atlanta app for breaking news and weather alerts.