ALLENDALE - Erika Beistle is a Rodney native who graduated from Big Rapids high school, she’s currently a senior at GVSU is currently ranked 6th in the world in the women’s discus with a mark of 66.63 meters. She threw that in a meet back in early April and shattered the previous D2 record of 61.35 meters, and at the time of the throw she ranked 2nd in the world, only behind 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist Valarie Allman. Beistle is a multiple state, and national champion who was an Olympic Trials Finalist in 2024, placing 4th overall.
For Beistle the support around her has helped her grow and unlock her full potential.
“Everybody around me always told me, like, you’re going to go places. Like I had teachers that were like, oh my God, you’re going to go get a full ride, you’re going to go throw. So far. And my coaches were like; you’re going to go to the Olympics one day. Like you’re going to make it happen. It’s going to I was like, no, I’m not like, that’s crazy. I hit the qualification mark last year and I was just like; you guys were right. Like, this is like that moment when I was just like, oh my God, this is happening. This is like, I could do this,” said Beistle. “I never thought it until last year, around this time, that this could be a real thing for me.”