- Associate Head Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Coach – Throws
- 15 seasons at Florida
- 11 seasons as Florida’s Associate Head Coach
- 9-time NCAA Division I National Champion
- 11-time SEC Champion
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Lemke by the Numbers
- 13 Individual Men’s and Women’s National Championships (8 by Gators)
- 35 Individual Men’s and Women’s SEC Championships
- 50 Gators Men’s and Women’s NCAA Championships Scorers
- 70 Men’s and Women’s USTFCCCA All-America Honors by Gators
- 7 University of Florida School Records Broken
- 15 Olympics Appearances
- 2 IAAF World Championships Medalists
- 2000 Olympic gold medalist (Nick Hysong, Arizona State)
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Florida associate head coach
Steve Lemke, a 34-year veteran of the collegiate and international coaching ranks, has elevated the Gators’ throwing corps to the top of the Southeastern Conference and the upper echelon of NCAA Division I over the last 15 seasons.
Since his arrival in 2006, Florida’s women have won
seven individual NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in throwing events—the third-most by any Division I program during that span.
Add in Stipe Zunic’s shot put national title at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships, and
the Gators’ eight individual crowns are the fifth-most of any Division I program during Lemke’s respective years with the women (2006 to present) and men (2008, when UF’s program merged, to present).
Also since 2006, UF’s women are
tied for the most national titles in Division I in the indoor shot put (3) and javelin throw (2). Florida’s five indoor and outdoor shot put national titles are
tied for the national lead during that span as well.
Lemke has done much more than develop national champions, though. Gator throwers have consistently scored at the national meets, helping the program to nine men’s team national titles and numerous top-five team finishes on the women’s side.
The following is a breakdown of where UF’s number of NCAA scorers (top-eight finishers) stack up among all Division I programs in the throwing events since Lemke’s first season with the women (2006) and men (2008):
- 50 men’s and women’s NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships scorers – 2nd
- 25 men’s NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships scorers – 1st
- 17 men’s NCAA Outdoor Championships scorers – tied 1st
- 10 men’s NCAA Outdoor Championships hammer throw scorers – tied 1st
- 9 women’s NCAA Outdoor Championships javelin throw scorers – tied 1st
- 9 women’s NCAA Indoor Championships scorers – tied 3rd
- 8 men’s NCAA Indoor Championships scorers – tied 3rd
- 25 women’s NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships scorers – 4th
- 16 women’s NCAA Outdoor Championships scorers – tied 4th
Gators have earned 70 USTFCCCA All-America honors in throwing events with Lemke’s tutelage. Florida’s combined events student-athletes have benefitted as well, amassing 12 All-America laurels in his time with the program.
At the conference level, Florida has been far and away the top throwing program since Lemke’s arrival. In addition to
leading with conference with 35 individual SEC titles since 2006, Florida is the only team to win at least one title in each of the four men’s outdoor throws and two indoor throws. The Gators are also one of two programs to win multiple titles in both of the women’s indoor throws.
Below is a breakdown of the Gators’ individual throwing titles at the SEC Championships and how they compare against the rest of the conference since 2006:
- 35 men’s and women’s SEC Indoor and Outdoor Championships – five more than any other program
- 19 men’s SEC Indoor and Outdoor Championships – three more than any other program
- 16 women’s SEC Indoor and Outdoor Championships – two more than any other program
- 11 women’s SEC Outdoor Championships – tied 1st
- 10 men’s SEC Indoor Championships – Six more than any other program
- 9 men’s SEC Outdoor Championships – 2nd
- 5 women’s SEC Indoor Championships – tied 1st
Moreover, the Gators lead the conference title count in women’s javelin throw (7), men’s indoor shot put (6), women’s outdoor shot put (4) and men’s weight throw (4). They are also tied for the most league titles in men’s hammer throw (4) and women’s indoor shot put (3).
Though Gators throwers have gone without a national title since 2015, there has been no shortage of outstanding performances in the last five seasons.
- Avione Allgood, javelin throw (56.54m / 186’ 6”) – 2018 USATF Outdoors bronze medalist; 2018 SEC Outdoor champion; 2018 NCAA Outdoors sixth-place finisher
- Lloydricia Cameron, shot put (17.66m / 57’ 11.25”) – 2018 SEC Indoors champion; 2017 SEC Outdoors champion; 2018 NCAA Indoors fourth-place finisher; 2017 NCAA Indoors and Outdoors seventh-place finisher; 2018 NCAA Outdoors eighth-place finisher; No. 4 indoor and outdoor marks in school history
- Anders Eriksson, hammer throw (74.19m / 243’ 5”) – 2018 NCAA Outdoors and SEC Outdoors runner-up; European Championships qualifier; 2016 SEC Outdoors champion; 2016 NCAA Outdoors fifth-place finisher broke school record
- Thomas Mardal, hammer throw (74.28m / 243’ 7.0”) – 2019 SEC Outdoors champion; 2019 NCAA Outdoors fourth-place finisher; 2018 NCAA Outdoors seventh-place finisher; UF record holder.
- Mardal, weight throw (22.89m / 75’ 1.25”) – 2020 SEC Indoor Champion; 2019 SEC Indoors bronze medalist; 2019 NCAA Indoors seventh-place finisher; No. 2 mark in school history
- AJ McFarland, weight throw (23.35m / 76’ 7.25”) – 2019 SEC Indoors champion; 2019 NCAA Indoors fourth-place finisher; broke school record
- McFarland, hammer throw (71.68m / 235’ 2”) – 2019 SEC Outdoors bronze medalist; 2019 NCAA Outdoors sixth-place finisher; 2018 NCAA Outdoors eighth-place finisher; No. 3 mark in school history
- Marija Vucenovic, javelin throw (58.58m / 192' 2") – 2013 and 2017 NCAA Outdoors runner-up; 2014, 2016, and 2017 SEC Outdoors runner-up; No. 2 mark in school history
Among those performers listed above, two have stories which stand out.
Allgood came back from both shoulder and elbow surgeries (along with road rash injuries from a motorcycle accident 11 days before throwing at SEC Outdoors) to win the league’s javelin title. And McFarland was a walk-on who had never thrown the hammer or weight prior to his arrival in Gainesville.
At the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Eriksson (second), Mardal (seventh) and McFarland (eighth) combined to become the
sixth trio of hammer throwers to score at NCAA Outdoors since 1966. Lemke also coached one of the other five trios at UTEP, in 1993.
In 2016, when Lemke was
named the 2016 USTFCCCA South Region Women’s Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year for a second time with the Gators, UF’s women became just the second team since 2007 to have at least one NCAA Outdoor Championships qualifier in each of the four throwing events. For the men, freshman hammer thrower Anders Eriksson finished fifth at NCAA Outdoors and won the SEC title, earning SEC Co-Freshman of the Year honors.
All of the aforementioned national and conference achievements have been a major reason for Florida’s team success over the last decade:
- NCAA Men’s Division I Championships – i: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2019; o: 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017
- SEC Men’s Championships – i: 2011, 2015, 2019; o: 2010, 2015, 2018
- SEC Women’s Championships: i: 2010, 2012, 2014; o: 2009, 2018
Olympians Coached by Lemke
Lemke has coached nine Olympians, with that contingent combining for 15 total Olympics appearances since the 1996 Olympic Games. The group is headlined by pole vault gold medalist Nick Hysong, whom Lemke trained at Arizona State University.
- Oliver Dziubak (Australia) – 2004 Olympian (javelin throw)
- Pal Arne Fagernes (Norway) – 1996 and 2000 Olympian (javelin throw)
- Nick Hysong (United States) – 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist (pole vault)
- Mariam Kevkhishvili (Georgia) – 2004 and 2008 Olympian (shot put)
- Kemal Mesic (Bosnia) – 2012 and 2016 Olympian (shot put)
- Alexandros Papadimitriou (Greece) – 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympian (hammer throw)
- Styliani “Stella” Tsikouna (Greece) – 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympian (hammer throw)
- Marko Wahlman (Finland) – 1996 Olympian (hammer throw)
- Stipe Zunic (Croatia) – 2016 Olympian (shot put)
Two former Lemke pupils, Australian javelin thrower Kim Mickle and Gators shot put thrower Stipe Zunic—who converted from the javelin following injury in 2012—boast World Championships medals. Mickle won silver in 2013, and Zunic
won bronze in 2017.
Lemke’s International Coaching Experience
In addition to his success at the collegiate level, Lemke has coached at three Summer Olympiads, three IAAF World Championships, the IAAF World Indoor Championships, and the Commonwealth Games.
Under Lemke’s guidance, Norway’s Trine Hattestad claimed gold in the javelin throw at the 1997 World Championships, while Australia’s Justin Anlezark nabbed the shot put gold medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games—which was one of five total medals the Aussies collected at the competition.
- 2009 IAAF World Championships – Head Coach (Georgia)
- 2008 Olympics – Head Coach (Georgia)
- 2004 Olympics – Throws Coach (Australia)
- 2003 IAAF World Championships – Throws Coach (Australia)
- 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Head Coach (Australia)
- 2002 Commonwealth Games – Throws Coach (Australia)
- 2000 Olympics – Throws Coach (Australia)
- 1997 IAAF World Championships – Throws Coach (Norway)
NCAA Division I National Champions Coached by Lemke
Lemke’s throwers have amassed 13 individual NCAA Division I Championships in his 24 seasons as a collegiate coach. Lemke’s star pupil was Gator Great Mariam Kevkhishvili, a five-time NCAA Champion in the shot put, and one of three women in Division I history to win back-to-back shot put national titles at the NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor Championships.
- Evelien Dekkers – 2010 NCAA Outdoor Champion (javelin throw)
- Pal Arne Fagernes (Arizona State) – 1996 NCAA Outdoor Champion (javelin throw)
- Nick Hysong (Arizona State) – 1994 NCAA Outdoor Champion (pole vault)
- Mariam Kevkhisvili – 2009-10 NCAA Outdoor Champion, 2008-10 NCAA Indoor Champion (shot put)
- One of two women in Division I history with five NCAA Championships in shot put
- Second woman in Division I history to win three consecutive NCAA Indoor Championships in the shot put
- Mika Laaksonen (UTEP) – 1992 NCAA Indoor Champion (weight throw)
- 1992 NCAA Outdoor Champion (hammer throw)
- Fawn Miller – 2014 NCAA Outdoor Champion (javelin throw)
- Marko Wahlman (UTEP) – 1993 NCAA Indoor Champion (weight throw)
- Stipe Zunic – 2015 NCAA Indoor National Champion (shot put)
Other Notable Performances Under Lemke
- Three SEC Outdoors decathlon titles (Gray Horn – 2009, 2010, 2011)
- Two SEC Indoors heptathlon titles (Gray Horn – 2011, 2012)
- Two SEC Outdoors heptathlon titles (Brittany Harrell – 2012; Amanda Froeynes – 2019)
- 2018 SEC Outdoor Men’s Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Anders Eriksson)
- 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America Second Team (Anders Eriksson)
- 2016 SEC Outdoor Men’s Co-Freshman Field Athlete of the Year (Anders Eriksson)
- 2015 Pan American Junior Championships bronze medalist (Lloydricia Cameron, United States – discus)
- 2013 Capital One Academic All-America First Team (David Triassi)
- 2010 USTFCCCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Evelien Dekkers)
- 2001 World Youth Champion (Kim Mickle, Australia – javelin)
Coaching History
- Florida – Associate Men’s and Women’s Head Coach – Throws (2010-Present)
- Florida – Assistant Men’s and Women’s Coach – Throws (2008-2009)
- Florida – Assistant Women’s Coach – Throws (2006-07)
- Queensland (Australia) Academy of Sport – Head Coach; National Throws Coordinator (2002-04)
- Western Australia Institute of Sport – Head Coach; National Throws Coordinator (1998-99, 2001-02)
- Norway – National Senior and Junior Throws Coach (1996-98)
- Arizona State University – Field Events Coach (1994-96)
- University of Texas El Paso – Field Events Coach (1990-93)
- Yale University – Field Events Coach (1987-89)
- Southeast Missouri State – Graduate Assistant Coach (1985-86)
- Washburn (Mo.) High School – Head Boys and Girls Coach (1983-85)
Personal
Lemke earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education from South Dakota State University—where he was an All-American javelin thrower—in 1983.
In September 2015, Lemke’s alma mater named bestowed him with the Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence, an honor presented to SDSU alums who distinguished themselves in the fields of coaching and education.
The Fargo, N.D. native has a 21-year-old son, Niklas.
