Oregon's final Pac-12 Athlete headed to Paris

The Oregon Ducks don't officially join the Big Ten Conference until August. As baseball season ended that was the last official team to be under the Pac-12 moniker. Earlier this week, Oregon's Track and Field team saw Jaida Ross become one of the last athletes for the Ducks to bear the Pac-12 symbol on their uniform.

Ross throws the shot put for the Ducks and is among several with ties to Oregon, either as current students or alumni to work their way through the US Olympic Track and Field Team Trials over the last ten days at Hayward Field in Eugene.

The Olympics come around every four years, so for these athletes, it is a chance to be a part of the most difficult team to make.

Oregon track and field: Jaida Ross to represent University of Oregon in Paris Olympics

Track and Field is also a sport where your respective level does not matter. High school, college, professional. All are here looking for the chance to go to Paris next month.

Ross made it through to the shot put final and placed third overall in the event, getting her the bronze medal and booking her trip to the Summer Games in Paris hitting a mark of 19.60 meters. She is the first from the University of Oregon to compete in the Olympics in the shot put since 1980.

Jaida Ross spoke about the shot put, "Once I really fully committed to this sport....thats when I really found my love for it, diversity everywhere, so much passion. It really has just kept growing." Over the years, Ross was participating on other events, but pared it down to simply one and she is glad that she did.

Team USA for the Women's Shot put is Ross, Raven Saunders, and Chase Jackson. The qualifying round in Paris is set for August 8th with the final the following day. The Summer Olympics begin on Friday, July 26th and will be broadcast on NBC/Peacock.