Just stay relaxed, keep your shoulders back, take a deep breath and here we go. With practiced and precise movements, Brittany Hampton creates a slingshot out of her body and releases the discus.
Although Hampton didn’t qualify for last week’s NCAA Outdoor Championships, she still has the best mark in the ACC for the women’s discus throw this year at 170 feet, four inches—and she did it while pregnant.
Hampton, a senior in women’s and gender studies, is married to Nathan Hampton, senior in environmental engineering. Brought together through their deeply held religious faith, the two married last year during spring break, four months after they began dating.
“My mom always told me that when you meet the person you should be with, you’ll just know,” Hampton said, “And that is exactly how it was.”
Hampton found out she was pregnant on March 21, two days after the first track meet of her third season. Monitored and cleared by doctors every step of the way, she held her own on the track as she began to deal with heartburn, fatigue and other pregnancy-related symptoms.
Hampton said she had to fight her ‘get-it-done’ personality by learning to listen to her body, space out school assignments, take frequent breaks and cut practice short if necessary.
“It was really, really hard,” Hampton said, “I can’t even remember how I got through it. I mean, the weeks still go on and continue so I just had to do the best that I could.”
Her hard work paid off at the April 16 meet in Chapel Hill, where she achieved what remains the best mark in the ACC this year before pregnancy related back pain prompted her to cut her meet short.
“I had thrown some pretty far throws at practice, and I was just ready to get it on paper. So I was really surprised and really happy when I was able to do that there,” she recalls.
Her success continued when she won the Penn Relays in the discus category two weeks later. She said she found strength when she needed it most, no matter how bad she felt.
At the NCAA East Region Preliminary on May 28, Hampton just missed her goal of qualifying for the championships when University of Akron senior Valerie Wert edged out Hampton in a tiebreaker for the twelfth and final spot by two feet.
Despite this disappointment, Hampton has made significant improvements this year, which Wolfpack throwing coach Tom Wood attributes to a greater understanding of the event and increased competition stemming from an influx of throwers.
Hampton sees her success under the circumstances as “clearly a blessing.”
“I feel like all I did was show up with the desire and the willingness to put forth the work, and everything else just panned out,” Hampton said.
Although approaching maternity will hamper Hampton’s ability to train and compete, coach Wood said he enjoyed the experience coaching her.
“She is a wonderful young lady,” Wood said. “I really enjoyed watching her grow up.”
Nathan Hampton said Brittany’s athletic skill is natural.
“I don’t know what it is, but it’s just the way the discus leaves her hand; you can tell that she’s got something a little extra that goes with it,” Nathan said, “It is really amazing to see how it works.”
With the baby due at the end November, near the kickoff of exams, things won’t get any easier for Hampton. Even though her status for her final year of athletic eligibility remains in doubt, one thing is for sure: the Hamptons’ “dead” week carries the promise and hope of a new life.
