In 2008, two years after graduating from Tennessee, Garland Porter competed in the U.S Olympic Trials in the hammer throw, hoping to make a spot in Beijing.
"The 2008 trials, I was like a deer in headlights. You walk in and you just get this shock factor, " Porter explained.
He finished 12th. The U.S. Olympic Committee took just one.
"I immediately knew after the '08 trials that I was going to do it for another four years.
"It was just some kind of feeling that you have inside that tells you this is not it. You're not satisfied with what you've done here."
So Porter decided to stay and train in Knoxville under Vols throws coach John Frazier.
Heading into his second try at the trials, he says he's a little older and a little wiser.
"Man, i've grown a lot. I was young then, not extremely young, but for a thrower. Skill wise, I feel like I've gotten stronger, faster. My technique is sharper. Mentally I'm not the same person anymore."