Annie Nabwe 'not giving up' and 'giving her best' at Minnesota

Dec. 27—JAMESTOWN — If you know anything about Annie Nabwe, you know she is never satisfied.

Last May, Nabwe completed the University of Minnesota's hammer throw sweep at the BIG 10 Championships. Nabwe, a Jamestown High School Class of 2022 grad, set a BIG 10 Championships meet record with a lifetime best throw of 69.85 meters (229 feet, 2 inches), which also goes down as a new Minnesota program record.

Prior to that, Nabwe earned her second-straight conference title in the women's weight throw at the 2025 BIG 10 Indoor Track and Field Championships. Nabwe's championship throw measured 24.22 meters (79 feet, 5 inches) — a personal best for the former Blue Jay. With the win, Nabwe became the fifth BIG 10 women's weight thrower to defend her conference title and the first to do so since 2016 when two-time Olympian Kelsey Card of the University of Wisconsin went back-to-back.

Nabwe owns the NCAA No. 21 mark all-time in the weight throw and also holds the second-best indoor shot put mark all-time at the University of Minnesota at 56 feet, 6 1/2 inches.

Still — the former Blue Jay would categorize her second season with the Gophers as a "learning experience."

"I had a lot of highs but also challenges both mentally and physically," Nabwe said. "I didn't finish exactly where I wanted, but that helped me grow more as a person and an athlete."

What she's growing into should scare her competition.

At the university's M City Classic on Dec. 5, Nabwe secured wins in the weight throw and the shot put. Both of Nabwe's winning marks in the shot put and weight throw were school records. Nabwe launched the shot 16.40 meters (53 feet, 9 3/4 inches) and the weight 23.74 meters or 77 feet, 10 3/4 inches.

"People should know that I am motivated, focused, committed and overall having fun," Nabwe said. "I am thankful for the support that I have gotten from loved ones, teammates, coaches, and everyone who has supported me. I am grateful and excited to keep growing and to see what the future holds."

Nabwe's season-opening weight throw mark is more than 4 feet farther than her 2024 opening weight throw of 73-8. Nabwe's mark in shot was also an improvement from last year's opening indoor competition by nearly 2 feet.

On Dec. 9, the Big Ten tabbed Nabwe as the conference's indoor track and field athlete to watch.

"People should know that I am ready, working hard, and I don't give up easily," Nabwe said. "They should know that every time I show up, I give my best."

Her "best" is honed daily by the University of Minnesota's training program.

Since the season officially began, Nabwe and her teammates weight lift on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for four hours. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, team members lift for anywhere between 1 hour, 45 minutes, and 2 hours. On Saturdays, the team practices or lifts for about 90 minutes.

"A typical training session is based on my class schedule," Nabwe said. "A normal, let's say, Monday, I have practice at 8:30 (a.m.) so I wake up at 7, get ready and eat breakfast. Then I scooter over to practice, warm up with my teammates and have practice.

"After, I go home and if I have time to eat and shower, I do, then I have class from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.," she said. "I try to eat in between or after that class, because my next class is at 1 to 2:15 and after that class I have lift at 3. ... After lift, I go to the trainer's to get worked on and after that it's about 5 o'clock. I go to the dining hall to eat dinner and then go home around 6-7 (p.m.) and do school work or if I do not have any I try to relax."

The next competition on the docket for Nabwe is the Minnesota Open at the University of Minnesota on Jan. 10. The indoor season will conclude with the BIG 10 Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 13-14.

"My goals for this year are being more confident, being mentally tough and starting off competitively instead of laid back, breaking some records and winning titles," Nabwe said. "These are all achievable because I have worked hard and I am in the position to do it. All I have to do is connect the pieces."