Laura Gerraughty is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 shot put

Shot put

The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....

ter.

Laura began throwing as a sophomore in high school in her hometown of Nashua, New Hampshire. She went on to represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

 in the shot

Shot put

The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....

, discus

Discus throw

The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...

, hammer

Hammer throw

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...

, and weight

Weight throw

The weight throw is a track and field event that is held at Scottish Highland games and occasionally at indoor track meets.In the Highland Games, the weight throw consists of two separate events, the light weight and the heavy weight. In both cases, the implement consists of a steel or lead weight ...

 throws under event coach Brian Blutreich and head coach Dennis Craddock. Sholds school records in each of these events. Laura holds a combined 13 Atlantic Coast Conference

Atlantic Coast Conference

The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...

 Championships individual event titles in these events, as well as 10 NCAA Division I All-America honors.

She finished fourth at the 2000 World Junior Championships

2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics

The 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2000 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Santiago, Chile.-Men:-Women:-Medals table:...

 in Santiago, Chile and won the bronze medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships

2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics

The 2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2002 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Kingston, Jamaica from July 16 to July 21, 2002.-Men:-Women:-Medals table:...

 in Kingston, Jamaica. She then competed at the 2004 Olympic Games

Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's shot put

The Shot Put events at the 2004 Summer Olympics were held on 18 August 2004 at the Ancient Olympia Stadium. It was originally planned to hold the discus throw at this venue, but it was discovered that the field was not large enough to accommodate the range of modern discus throwers, and would have...

 without reaching the final round.

Her personal best throw is 19.15 metres, achieved in March 2004 at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. This is the farthest throw by any NCAA Division I female shot putter, indoors or outdoors. In that same year, Laura also won the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the USA Track & Field

USA Track and Field

USA Track & Field is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking...

 Indoor National Championships, and the USA Track & Field Outdoor National Championships (the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials).

Following her collegiate career, Laura competed briefly for Nike, Inc.

Nike, Inc.

Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...

, representing the company at the 2005 USA Track & Field Outdoor National Championships. Her career was later ended due to injury. She went on to coach the throws for her alma mater

Alma mater

Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...

 for two seasons.

Laura Gerraughty, now Laura Ekstrand, lives with her family in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts

Tyngsborough, Massachusetts

Tyngsborough is a town located in the northwest section of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Composed of of land and surface water, Tyngsborough borders the towns of Dunstable, Groton, Westford, Chelmsford, Dracut, and the City of Lowell, as well as the New Hampshire communities of Hudson,...

.

Achievements

Representing the
2003	Pan American Games Athletics at the 2003 Pan American Games The athletics competition at the 2003 Pan American Games was held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from Tuesday August 5 to Saturday August 9, 2003...	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	5th	17.33 m
2004	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons , the race walks , and the shot put...	Athens, Greece	26th	16.47 m