Could third time be charm for former Wisconsin track and field star Zach Ziemek at Olympics?

MADISON – No matter what happens in Paris, Zach Ziemek has established himself as one of the ironmen of track and field’s most demanding event.

Staying power in the decathlon is tough.

When the former University of Wisconsin standout qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games last month, he became just the second United States male athlete to make the field in that event three times. Tom Pappas, an Olympian in 2000, ’04 and ’08, was the first.

And Ziemek felt great doing it. The 31-year-old is already talking about making a run for the team in 2028.

“They’ve always said the age between 28 and 32,” he said when asked if he feels in his prime.  “I didn’t really believe that when I was younger, but now being here, seeing that, I think that is absolutely the truth.”

Ziemek is one of 17 current or former Badgers to earn an Olympic berth . Five will compete in track and field. Adam Spencer, a rising senior, will compete for Australia in the 1,500-meter run. Also making the Australian team were former Badgers Morgan McDonald (5,000) and Olli Hoare (1,500). Mohammed Ahmed will make his fourth appearance, representing Canada in the 5,000 and 10,000.

When it comes to former UW track athletes, Ahmed leads the pack in Olympic berths. Next comes Ziemek, whose pursuit of his first Olympic medal takes place Aug. 2-3, and Suzy Favor Hamilton, a qualifier in 1992, ’96 and 2000.

“(This) being my third (Olympics), I know if you’re in the mix a lot of things can happen,” Ziemek said. “If I’m in the mix for top three, top five, fifth could be first. You never know what is going to happen.”

Zach Ziemek has two top-10 finishes at the Olympics

Ziemek took seventh in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro and finished sixth in the Tokyo Games that were held in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. He followed that showing with his best performance on the world stage, a bronze medal at the 2022 world championships in Oregon.

He withdrew from the world championships last year after dislocating his foot, so these Olympics are his first chance to build on the best showing of his career.

He’ll arrive in Paris with experience few Olympians can match.

“If you’ve never been to one, you’re not used to the schedule of it, of how long the two days are, how long it is being in the village, how the travel affects you,” Ziemek said. “Now being to the third one (and) multiple world championships I know exactly what I want to do for my stay, for my travel, what to expect for the meet itself, so I shouldn’t have any surprises this time.”

Ziemek’s Olympic trials total of 8,516 points ranks 10 ^th in the world this year. The score was enough to give him a second-place finish at the U.S. trials behind Michigan State’s Heath Baldwin.

Ziemek, however, has scored better. His personal best of 8,676, came at the world championships two years ago and his second-best score of 8,573 came at the U.S. championships earlier that year.

He has come a long way. He totaled 8,392 points in his first Olympic appearance.

Ziemek feels gains made in the power-speed events and throws have pushed him to a higher echelon.

“The decathlon is 10 events, so it takes so long for them all to come together,” he said. “Maybe some years some are coming together and the next others. It’s just a balancing act.

“I always say Coach Nate Davis, he’s an artist out here. He’s the one doing the training. I’m executing the training, but hopefully now as I’m getting older a lot of those events are going up together. It’s not always a straight shot up I would tell younger kids. You’re going to have ups and downs, and hopefully at this age I’m going up for a couple of years.”

More: A running list of Wisconsin-connected athletes competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics

Ziemek still calls Wisconsin home

Ziemek is from Itasca, Illinois, which is about 25 miles northwest of Chicago, but Madison has been his base since he arrived on campus 13 years ago.

Davis coached Ziemek in the event at UW when Ziemek was a five-time All-American and an NCAA indoor champion in the heptathlon. It’s a role Davis continues in today.

Ziemek also continues to train at UW’s McClimon Memorial Track. The location is not only convenient because of his connection with Davis, but because it gives him a chance to get input from other Badgers coaches. For instance, before the Fourth of July weekend, Ziemek fine-tuned his hurdle form with associate head coach Kareem Jackson and Gio Wearing, a rising UW junior who qualified for the NCAA meet in the 110-meter high hurdles.

Ziemek called Wisconsin a special place for training.

“I am around the student-athletes all the time, which is great,” he said. “This is 13 years here for me. I’ve been with Nate for over 10 now, with Coach Jackson, everybody and (throws coach) Dave (Astrauskas). It’s very special to train here.”

Ziemek heads to the Games ranked 18 ^th in the world, but he feels there are points he left on the track during the trials, particularly in the 1,500 and javelin. If he can shave some time off his races or add a few inches here and there in the throws and jumps, it could add up to an extra special visit to Paris.

“I’ve worked a lot physically and mentally this year,” he said. “I feel very in the moment. I’ve taken it day by day, event by event. Going into this I am not a favorite. Whether I was or not, it wouldn’t matter. I know what we can do so I’m just going to try to have the best meet I can and contend for a medal.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Could third time be charm for former Wisconsin track and field star Zach Ziemek at Olympics?