LOGAN, Utah – James Parker, one of the most decorated athletes in Utah State history and former Olympian, has died. He was 47.
 
Parker earned a school-record nine All-American honors – a feat that has since been matched by Dillon Maggard – during his time as a thrower on Utah State's track & field team (1995, 1999-2001). He was a four-time All-American in the indoor 35-pound weight throw (1995, 1999, 2000, 2001), a four-time All-American in the hammer throw (1995, 1999, 2000, 2001) and an All-American in the discus (2001).
 
While with the Aggies, Parker captured seven Big West Conference titles (four in the hammer, two in the discus and one in the shot put) and was named the league's Male Athlete of the Year in 1995. He was also a two-time Mountain Pacific Sports Federation indoor champion in the weight throw in 2000 and 2001.
 
Parker still holds outdoor school records in the discus (58.56 meters/192-1) and hammer (73.32 meters/240-7), as well as the top indoor mark for the weight throw (21.57 meters/70-9). His best NCAA Championships was a runner-up finish in the hammer throw as a senior, and a fourth-place finish in the same event as a junior.
 
Parker graduated from Utah State in 2001 with degrees in exercise science and human biology. Following his collegiate days, he went on to shine on the big stage. He was inducted into the Utah State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
 
As a professional, Parker won three-consecutive USA hammer titles from 2003-05, and was the 2004 USA indoor weight throw champion and silver medalist in the event at the 2003 Pan Am Games. His personal-best heave of 79.20 meters in the hammer throw ranks 10th all-time in the United States and 143rd in the world.
 
In 2004, Parker won the hammer at the Olympic Trials and earned a trip to Athens, Greece. Unfortunately for the native of Layton, Utah, he became ill just before the Olympics and failed to make it through qualifying.
 
Parker, who also served as a services officer in the Air Force for six years, called it a career after the 2008 Olympic Trials when he failed to make the U.S. team. He went back to school and attended the University of Western States in Portland, Oregon, and earned a doctorate in chiropractic practice, a four-year, board-certified degree.
 
After graduating, Parker returned to Utah to learn from Craig Buhler, who was a longtime chiropractor for the Utah Jazz. The father of six owned a successful chiropractic business in Kaysville, Utah, Parker Muscle & Sports Clinic.
 
Parker also served as a chiropractic consultant for USA Track and Field and has been on the medical staff for multiple World Championships and Olympic Games.
 
A GoFundMe page to help support Parker's family has been set up by David Blair. With Parker as his coach, Blair won the gold medal in the discus with a world-record throw of 64.11 meters (210-4) at Rio 2016 Summer Paralympics.
 
Click here to donate to Parker's GoFundMe page.

For more information on the Utah State track & field/cross country programs, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at USUTF_XC.
 
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