LANGLEY — The former Falcon’s big dreams are now grand goals.

Kimery Hern discovered her talent and affinity for throwing the hammer in high school and dreamed of the Olympics. Every choice she made since has been in the pursuit of that vision.

She had scholarship opportunities from schools across the country, but her home state schools, Washington State University and University of Washington, wanted her for their PAC-10 programs. Though Ivy League universities also tried to acquire her throwing talents, in the end the choice came down to which school that would give her the best opportunity to develop into a world-class hammer thrower. Georgia Institute of Technology was that school.

While she was a Yellow Jacket in Atlanta, Hern continued her success. She competed in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships three of the four years until she graduated in 2009. She was an All-American in 2007 in the hammer throw. The next season she set a new school record in the hammer with 197 feet, 11 inches.

After graduating with a degree in business and marketing, Hern moved to San Jose, Calif. to work for GNC as a store manager in August 2009. Compared to the hours of weight training, technique coaching, studying, classes, travel, competition and cortisone shots, work sounded like a nice change of pace to Hern.

“When I left Georgia Tech, I was tired. I didn’t want to do it anymore,” Hern said. “I was ready to chill at the beach.”

The goal-oriented Hern couldn’t slow down too much, though.

She worked 60-hour weeks regularly, and continued her training regimen. But she found herself tired too often, and exhausted. Five months later, she moved to South Whidbey to be closer to her family as she attempted to find a way to train for the Olympics.

“I remember the look on my mom’s face when I told her,” Hern said of her mom, Karen Holum. “Because I didn’t say anything about it until after I came back.”

“Whidbey Island’s a special place, especially South Whidbey,” Hern added.

“I can walk down the street, even after being gone years and years and I still feel like I know everybody and they know me, like it’s a family in itself. Just being back and feeling like you have the support of that whole community and that big family just does wonders for your peace of mind.”

Hern recalled “cold-calling” throwing coach Reedus Thurmond at the University of Washington, not expecting a return call. Thurmond recognized her from the NCAA championships and set up a meeting to determine her commitment. He only needed one meeting to know she was committed to being an Olympic hopeful.

He brought her onto the Washington coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Thurmond is in his fifth year as throws coach and had four All-Americans in 2009, which, according to the Washington athletics website, is the most All-Americans since 1988.

Hern, 23, now works with the throwers and practices the hammer throw six days a week, between

18 and 30 hours a week, depending on which training cycle she’s in.

“It’s definitely a full-time job,” Hern said.

The road to London has been long for Hern, and it started at South Whidbey.

Hammer isn’t an official track-and-field event in Washington. Hern started with discus and shotput; she discovered the hammer at the Ironwood Throwers Camp in Spokane in her junior year at South Whidbey.

Because it’s not an event in the Evergreen state, Hern trained herself, with guidance from South Whidbey throws coach Jeff Greene. Track and field was her main athletic focus in high school, and Hern was a year-round thrower.

“I wasn’t one of those, like, involved kids,” Hern said. “I didn’t do little league soccer, or little league softball.”

In the offseason, she woke up early and stayed late to do weight training. When the Ironwood staff saw Hern throw the hammer with no prior instruction, they told her if she practiced she could get an athletic scholarship as a hammer thrower.

“I saw a lot of potential, so I thought I’d just keep going,” she said.

Six years later, Hern keeps going with her hammer-throwing talent. She has to meet international standards with a throw of 66 meters. So far this year, her best throw was 61 meters, and Thurmond said her aim to hit 65 meters soon. Improvements in her throwing distance have come in waves. In her sophomore year at Georgia Tech, she threw 20 feet farther than her previous best. She credited muscle memory and the dedication to technique for her improvements, and knows it requires time to hit the qualifying mark.

For the self-described “short-sighted” athlete, time is the most frustrating part of the process for Hern. To help alleviate the frustration, Thurmond and Hern established a “realistic” timeline of her progress. Hern said that after the 2012 qualifiers, she will evaluate what her next step is toward the 2016 Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro.

She competes for Club Northwest and is partially sponsored by the Evergreen Athletic Fund. The Evergreen Athletic Fund was designed to aid track and field throwers from Washington, and sponsors three athletes at a time. The nonprofit organization chose Hern on Thurmond’s recommendation. Donations can be mailed to Evergreen Athletic Fund, 4230 137th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA 98005 or on its website at www.evergreenathletic.org.

“It’s amazing, because it gives me the chance to compete internationally,” Hern said of the EAF.

Experience with international competition, Hern explained, is crucial before she goes out for the Olympic qualifier in 2012.

“Knowing that there are people out there that believe you can actually achieve what you’re trying to” is gratifying, Hern said, “because they wouldn’t offer to give you money and support you if they didn’t believe in you.

“I know I couldn’t get that anywhere else, because this is my community. These people know me and they’ve seen what I’ve done, and know I can do bigger and better things,” she said.