If you would have told Jen Leatherman four years ago that she would be attempting to participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, chances are she would have called you crazy.

Yet now, that dream seems more possible than ever.

Since finishing her track and field career at Penn State last spring, Leatherman is training for the U.S. qualifiers in 2008.

In two years competing for the Nittany Lions, Leatherman was a five-time All-American, named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-America women's track and field team and was named the 2006 Big Ten Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

After having two amazing seasons and qualifying for U.S. Outdoor National Championships, Leatherman knew that her dream of once making the Olympics was now not so impossible and could actually become reality.

"Jen is a different breed, she has what it takes to attain her goals because she is 100 percent focused, and has passion, desire and talent to accomplish all of her goals," Leatherman's former coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said.

Leatherman hopes to qualify for her best event, the hammer throw.

To be eligible for the Olympics, Leatherman has to finish in the top three in the U.S. Qualifiers. A qualifying standard is about 230-to-245 feet for the hammer throw.

Her dream of making the Olympics is even more amazing considering her limited background in the sport.

In high school, Leatherman did not even participate in track and field, partially because she moved around so much, going to three high schools in a span of four years because of her father's job.

However, once she got to the U.S. Naval Academy in the fall of 2002, everything changed.

There, Leatherman met Carmen Mann, a Penn State graduate, her first year at the academy, and ever since then she has been involved in track and field.

Mann started teaching Leatherman from scratch.

She taught her the proper technique in the shot put, discus, hammer throw and even coached her when she ran the 4x400-meter and the 4x800-meter relays.

By the time Leatherman started her sophomore year, she was very unhappy at the academy. Because of that, she turned her attention even more toward track and field.

"I wanted to be out on the track more than I wanted to be in my room; I used the track as a release from everything else," said Leatherman.

At the end of her sophomore year,
after talking with many track and field coaches at Penn State, she transferred to Happy Valley for her junior and senior years.

Leatherman will graduate in December, and after finishing her collegiate career, making her dreams come true will be in her own hands.

When she is training, Leatherman makes sure -- for inspiration -- that when overwhelmed, she remembers everyone who has helped her get to the point she is at now.

"I want to be able to make it as far as I can, in part, to say thanks to all of my coaches and to be able to pay them back for all the time they have spent with me," Leatherman said.

Without a coach, Leatherman's training is solely up to her and she has set up a strict schedule of exercise, diet and competition weekly.

From September to October, she has been doing general conditioning and
corrects any technical changes needed in her form.

Leatherman says this is when she needs to get rid of her "old lady strength."

During November and January her goal is to become more powerful by building muscle mass.

As a tool, she throws a 20-pound weight and does many other drills that will build muscle.

In February she will focus solely on the hammer throw and nothing else.

March through June means competition. Leatherman competes in outdoor competitions throughout the country.

This is when she will participate in competitions like the Road To Eugene and the Pan America Games. In September, Leatherman hopes she will be at her best, hitting expectations she set for herself at the start of her training.

During this entire stretch of time, Leatherman continues to eat lean meats and stay on a relatively strict protein diet so she is able to gain and maintain her muscle mass.

For the average person, this routine may seem daunting, but Leatherman has the determination, discipline and commitment to follow through with it until the end.

"Jen is a highly goal oriented person who works hard and trains hard to meet the standards she has set for herself," her father Jack Leatherman said.

Leatherman will need all of these characteristics once she moves out to Moorpark, Calf., after graduating.

Being all the way on the other side of the country will force her to greatly depend on herself.

However, this is the best place for Leatherman to train because she will have the best facilities, allowing her to devote all of her time to perfecting the hammer throw.

While this is a big jump for Leatherman -- just the beginning of a journey that will last more than a year -- Alford-Sullivan feels that if there is anyone who can qualify for the Olympic Games and reach his or her dream, it is Leatherman.

"Jen has the desire to be a champion," Alford-Sullivan said. "She doesn't just want to be a participant. That is something as a coach you cannot teach, but something that an athlete is born with."