Worldly experience
Ciccolini adds Olymic athlete to her resume
Trending
LEWISTOWN -- No measure of success -- the first place finishes in both interscholastic and club meets or the gold medals in Shippensburg -- could ever prepare an athlete for what the world's biggest stage has to offer.
Especially for a senior in high school.
Mifflin County's Skylar Ciccolini got the opportunity of her young life when she was invited to compete in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October.
Getting selected to represent the United States was a process in itself with the committee having to choose from hundreds of athletes and choosing seven javelin throwers based off rankings, merits and the potential to medal.
Ciccolini, unfortunately, didn't medal in the games having finished sixth -- in the world! -- but she did make an impact on the second day of competition.
The senior threw the javelin for a U.S. prep javelin record 180 feet-8 inches.
All it took was a simple change in her plans.
"The night before, I stayed in the (Olympic) Village and didn't go to eat with the team like I did before the first day," she said. "I got some more sleep which helped with improving my marks for the second day."
Her throw on the second day was nearly six yards longer than her toss of 163-8 on the first day. Ciccolini not only made the adjustments she knew she had to make to have a stronger finish than start, but the anxiety wasn't nearly as high either.
After she arrived for the opening ceremony -- something she highly enjoyed -- Ciccolini had to wait a week before the track and field events started. That's also when the butterflies in her stomach struck.
"I say the nerves definitely hit me when the track and field competition opened because I didn't compete until the third day. I kept watching my teammates and I was anxious to go," she said.
But then her time came, and though it doesn't matter to her where she is placed in the lineup, she was right in the middle of the action. She just didn't like how she started.
"That day, I was pretty unhappy with how I performed," Ciccolini said. "I was fairly tired from the night before and I think that hurt my ability to perform to my abilities. … It was rough around the edges, but I threw okay with all things considered for the first day."
Being selected to represent the country threw a wrench in her training schedule. Not that she's one to complain about what it was leading up to.
"I found out I was going a month and a half ahead of time," Ciccolini said. "I was going to take some time off before school started, but then I jumped right back into training. It was super exciting preparing for a meet like that. I knew it was going to be bigger both in venue and competition. It made me really excited."
It was a bit of a culture shock upon arrival, but Ciccolini quickly adjusted and grew excited. The toughest part of the whole thing was being away from home for more than two weeks -- something she had never done before for any meet.
"Culture-wise it was an adjustment. I stayed in an Olympic Village instead of a hotel," she said. "It was cool because I got to see different athletes from different countries and that was pretty incredible. … I wanted to be in a situation where someone was pushing me or catching up to somebody. That didn't happen to me at the high school level."
She didn't have time to do anything she wasn't there for with the hours she put in practicing and competing, and when she had time in the village, she slept. However, the experience was something she didn't have to enjoy alone as both her mother and sister were in attendance.
Overall, Ciccolini wouldn't throw the adventure away like a javelin.
"The whole thing was just an incredible experience to just make myself a better javelin thrower and competitor in everything I do," she said. "The experience was so valuable and I wouldn't trade it for anything."