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WWE legend Brock Lesnar's daughter Mya makes history after winning NCAA national shot put title

WWE legend Brock Lesnar's daughter Mya makes history after winning NCAA national shot put title

The Irish Suna day ago

BROCK LESNAR'S daughter Mya has reached new heights after setting a college record.
The
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Mya Lynn Lesnar, daughter of WWE icon Brock, made college sports history
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Mya won the indoor championship last year
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She is now a national champion after a sensational shot put performance
Since Loree Smith's 2005 victory in an outdoor event, she is the only Rams athlete to achieve so, and joins her former WWE star father in securing a national crown, with Brock, a heavyweight wrestler at Minnesota winning an NCAA title back in 2000.
Mya, who had won the indoor championship in 2024, is keen to make her own way despite the talk around her famous dad.
Mya's high throw of 62 feet, 4 1/2 inches was part of her incredible effort that helped seal the win.
Every participant gets three chances, but Mya got an early edge by making a statement with a throw that exceeded 60 feet.
At 61 feet, 10 1/4 inches, Illinois athlete Abria Smith's third throw put her in second place. Nevertheless, Mya easily won with her second-best throw of 61 feet, 11 inches.
Her ecstatic father Brock watched from the stands as she would go on to keep the family name in the national rafters.
The younger Lesnar earlier won the NCAA indoor shot put title in 2024, making him just the sixth Colorado State athlete to earn outdoor gold.
Mya is now the only athlete in program history to win both indoor and outdoor championships.
Most read in Sport
After transferring from Arizona State to CSU, Mya became one of the country's best collegiate throwers under coach Brian Bedard.
She came into this week's competition as the top seed in the country after placing sixth at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Last summer, she would go on to win an Olympic bronze with her personal best score of 64 feet, 3 3/4 inches.
"Heck yeah it was. It was pretty awesome," Lesnar said to the school's athletics website, CSURams.com on her triumph.
"Obviously throws like that don't happen often, and to do it on my first one was pretty cool. I just went calm, hit my cues. [Rams coach Brian] Bedard and I have tons of trust, and that's exactly what we did."
As stated, her achievements echoes her famous father.
Brocl came back from a losing position in double overtime to win 3-2 in one of the most thrilling tournament finals ever.
In addition to starting a career that would include celebrity status in the WWE, UFC, and a brief NFL stint, that victory culminated a 50-2 record at Minnesota.
Read more on the Irish Sun
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Brock Lesnar has made his name in the wrestling ring
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Brock Lesnar also fought in UFC from 2008 to 2011 - before returning for one more bout in 2016
His daughter's ascent to NCAA greatness now partially matches his remarkably powerful athletic past.
Since his final in-ring performance at SummerSlam 2023, Brock has been absent from the professional wrestling industry.

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Like mother, like daughter: Sophie O'Sullivan wins the NCAA 1,500m title in dominant style
Like mother, like daughter: Sophie O'Sullivan wins the NCAA 1,500m title in dominant style

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Like mother, like daughter: Sophie O'Sullivan wins the NCAA 1,500m title in dominant style

With a dominant style reminiscent of her mother, Sophie O'Sullivan won the prestigious NCAA 1,500m title at Hayward Field in Oregon on Saturday night, the climax of the US collegiate track and field season. It was O'Sullivan's final race representing the University of Washington in Seattle, and the 23-year-old made the absolute most of it. Hitting the front with two laps to go, she gradually wore down her rivals before kicking clear in the last 200 metres – her last lap a blazing 58.43 seconds, her winning time a season best of 4:07.94. Sophie O'Sullivan of the Washington Huskies reacts after winning the Women's 1,500m NCAA title at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Photograph: C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images There was no disguising her utter delight on the line, O'Sullivan finished at the back of this race in her last two appearances, her preparations hampered by injury. 'Pretty f**king happy,' she told trackside reporters. 'I felt this year I was a different person, a different athlete. And based on the races I've had recently, I had no reason to think I should run bad.' O'Sullivan became only the fifth Irish woman to win an NCAA title, following in the strides of her famous mother Sonia, who won the 3,000m with Villanova in 1990 and 1991. Valerie McGovern also won the 5,000m in 1990 and later Mary Cullen in 2006, before Rhasidat Adekele became the first Irish woman to win a sprint title, running 49.20 to claim the 400m with the University of Texas three years ago. READ MORE Women's 1500m National Champion 🏆 Sophie O'Sullivan of 📊 4:07.94 — NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) After the bunched field reached 800m in 2:21, O'Sullivan had seen enough, taking over at the front and never looking back. She ran her last two laps in 2:04.51, and although Margot Appleton from the University of Virginia chased hard, she had to settle for second in 4:08.99. 'Usually there's a lot of talk about being the person that wants to win the most, and I think there was a bit of that,' added O'Sullivan. 'I really wanted to win the most, but I think also I was probably okay if I didn't win, if it meant I gave my best.' Sophie O'Sullivan with her mother Sonia after winning the NCAA 1,500m title in Oregon, June 2025. Photograph: University of Washington Her mother Sonia was present at the famed Hayward Field to witness the moment of triumph. O'Sullivan will now continue her preparations for the World Championships in Tokyo in September, having run a lifetime best 4:00.23 at the Paris Olympics last summer, just missing out on qualification for the semi-finals. She made her Irish debut at the European Under-18 Championships in Gyor, Hungary in 2018, winning silver in the 800m behind Britain's Keely Hodgkinson, who won the Olympic gold medal in Paris last summer. O'Sullivan then added the European Under-23 1,500m title in 2023, beating teammate Sarah Healy into second place. Oregon was hosting the 43rd staging of the women's NCAA championships, beginning in 1982 in Provo, Utah, while the men's championships have been running since 1921. Only four Irish-born men achieved the feat of winning an NCAA title on the track; Ronnie Delany, John Lawlor (twice in the hammer) Eamonn Coghlan (twice in the 1,500m) and Frank O'Mara. Sean Dollman and Alistair Cragg, both South African born before declaring for Ireland, also won three, Cragg the last of them with his 10,000m title in 2004. Bow Down!!! 🥇✨ Sophie O'Sullivan DOMINATES to become the first UW woman to win a running event at NCAAs since Katie Flood also won the 1500m in 2012. — Washington Track & Field and Cross Country (@UWTrack) Elsewhere, Efrem Giday finished second in the British 10,000m championships in Birmingham, clocking 28:09.36. The title went to Britain's Emile Cairess who clocked a new personal best of 27:27.95, with Ellis Cross third in 28:14.47. Nick Griggs also made welcome return to form at the British Milers Club event in Belfast, winning the mile in 3:55.97, having missed several months of training due to an infection in his knee.

Sophie O'Sullivan wins 1500m gold to become NCAA Division 1 champion
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Sophie O'Sullivan wins 1500m gold to become NCAA Division 1 champion

SOPHIE O'SULLIVAN BECAME the fifth Irish women last night to win an NCAA title after claiming victory in the 1500m race in Oregon. Competing in the Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the 23-year-old took gold in a time of 4:07:94. The final year student at the University of Washington emulates her mother Sonia, who took gold at 3000m in 1990 and 1991. Advertisement The other Irish female athletes that have won gold at this level are Rhasidat Adeleke (400m in 2023 and 4x100m relay in 2022 & 2023), Mary Cullen (5000m in 2006), and Valerie McGovern (5000m in 1989 & 1990). She finished ahead of Margot Appleton, from University of Virginia, in second place in a time of 4:08.99. O'Sullivan, who competed for Ireland in the Paris Olympics last year, reflected on her victory after the race. 'Being the person that wants to win the most and I think there's bit of that like, maybe I really wanted to win the most, but I think also I was probably okay with it if I didn't win, if it meant I gave my best. I was just confident I could do the best that I could and I was going to be okay with that. 'Pretty f**king happy. I just kind of really thought someone was going to close on me there, so I was probably a bit scared and just run as far as I could and then kind of finished, looked around, I was like actually that's not too bad. I heard them say my name I was winning, soI kind of think there was at least some separation, but you kind of just never know.'

Sophie O'Sullivan sprints to victory at NCAA Championships
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Sophie O'Sullivan sprints to victory at NCAA Championships

With a devastating last lap of 58.43 seconds, Sophie O'Sullivan has etched her name on the exclusive list of Irish athletes to have won an NCAA title – the 23-year-old clocking 4:07.94 to win the women's 1500m at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday night. O'Sullivan, a final-year student at the University of Washington, is just the fifth Irish woman to have won gold at the event, following in the footsteps of her mother Sonia along with Rhasidat Adeleke, Valerie McGovern and Mary Cullen. O'Sullivan was born and raised in Australia but, as a dual citizen, she chose to represent Ireland in her mid-teens, winning 800m silver in her international debut at the European U-18 Championships in 2018. In 2023, she outsprinted her Irish teammate Sarah Healy to win the European U-23 1500m title and went on to become an Olympian in Paris last year. However, despite her achievements elsewhere, O'Sullivan had repeatedly come up short in her search for an NCAA title, finishing 12th in the 1500m final at the last two editions. She said she was 'pretty f**king happy' to hit the line in front in her final race as a collegiate athlete and had been 'running a bit scared' over the last lap, unaware of how much daylight she had put between her and her rivals. She came home well clear of Margot Appleton of the University of Virginia (4:08.99). O'Sullivan revealed she had endured some cyber bullying after one of her earlier disappointments at the event, but having struggled with injuries at times in recent years, she came into these championships fit and fully firing. 'I felt this year I was a different person, a different athlete,' she said. 'And based on the races I've had recently, I had no reason to think I should run bad.' The early pace in the final was slow, the field passing 400m in 68 seconds and 800m in just 2:21. O'Sullivan slotted into second on the opening lap but took control with two laps to run. 'I was just trying to hold my position on the inside lane and not let everyone box me out and trying to find a way out,' she told She shifted through the gears, stretching the field, on the penultimate lap, and then went for broke with half a lap to run, powering clear of the field on the final bend. She said it was 'special' to finish her NCAA career with a win. Her mother Sonia had won five NCAA titles during her years at Villanova University in the early 1990s. Asked about her plans and where she plans to base herself, Sophie said she was 'not too sure' but would look at the options on the table in the weeks ahead for a professional contract. 'My visa's up so I've got to leave America soon, I'm going to fly to London and go from there. We'll see.' Over the summer she will be based primarily in Teddington, linking up with members of the Melbourne Track Club, a professional group which is run by her father, Nic Bideau. She is already qualified for the Tokyo World Championships in September, having run 4:00.23 at the Olympics in Paris last year. Elsewhere at the NCAA Championships, Cork sprinter Lucy-May Sleeman was part of the Florida State team that finished seventh in the women's 4x100m, clocking 43.30. The women's 800m was won by Róisín Willis in 1:58.13, the daughter of Irish Olympian Breda Dennehy-Willis. A student at Stanford University, Willis is also eligible to represent Ireland though in her teenage years she chose to represent the US, where she was born and raised, winning the world U20 title in 2022. Meanwhile, Rhasidat Adeleke will be back in action this evening at the Stockholm Diamond League. The 22-year-old Dubliner finished fourth in Oslo on Thursday night in her first 400m race since last September, clocking 50.42, and she will hope to improve on that against a similar line-up in Stockholm. The race goes to the line at 6pm Irish time, with live coverage on Virgin Media Two and BBC Two from 5pm. On Saturday, rising star Nick Griggs made an excellent return to racing at the British Milers Club event in Belfast after a long layoff, winning the mile in 3:55.97 in rainy conditions.

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