Tia Brooks-Wannemacher had to be talked into throwing a shot put when she was on the track & field team at East Kentwood High School, preferring instead to run.
She reluctantly made the move to throwing the shot put though, and it eventually took her to the top of the sport and the Olympic Games.
In high school, competing in shot put and discus, Tia was a four-time all-stater, a two-time regional champion and won the MHSAA championship in the shot put as a senior in 2008, breaking both the meet and state records in the process.
Tia went on to the University of Oklahoma where she was a four-time NCAA shot put champion and the school’s indoor and outdoor record holder. Her throw of 63 feet, ¾ inches made her the first collegiate woman to throw over 63 feet.
Tia’s college success took her to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. She finished third in the shot put and earned a trip to the London Olympics where she finished 19th.
Her success led to a Nike sponsorship and she represented the company for five years. In 2016 she threw a personal best 64-8 ¾ to win the Birmingham Diamond League Meet in England. That throw still ranks as the sixth best by an American woman.
A native of Saginaw, Tia retired in 2018.