Amy Palmer: Mormon Athlete

Amy Marie Christiansen Palmer earned a spot on the 2000 Olympic team by finishing second in the hammer throw at the trials. She placed eighth at the games. She missed qualifying for the 1996 Olympic Games by placing fifth in shot put at the trials. She also competed in the 2004 Olympic Trials. She took bronze at the 1998 Goodwill Games.

Palmer was born on April 20, 1975, in Tooele, Utah, and grew up in Grantsville. She went into throwing events in track halfway through the season during her freshman year of high school and quickly won ten Utah state titles. She was also All-State in volleyball.

At Brigham Young University, she won the Western Athletic Conference shot put three times, placed eighth and fifth in the NCAA shot put, won the USA Junior shot put, placed 11th in the World Junior shot put, placed sixth in the shot put at USA Outdoors and was ranked No. 6 in the U.S. in shot put by Track & Field News. In her senior year (1998), she was WAC indoor champion in weight throw and second in shot put. She was NCAA Outdoor All-American in hammer throw and shot put.

After the Sydney Olympics, Palmer added to her bachelor’s degree obtained at BYU (in recreational management) by going back to school to get a teacher’s certificate. She taught fourth grade and she and her husband, Rick, are the parents of three daughters. She was named Tooele County Citizen of the year in 2000 and 2001 and was inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame in 2008.

Palmer is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.