Graphic: UAA Communications
Mariam Kevkhishvili: An International Success Story
Friday, October 8, 2021 | Track and Field
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — He was Australia's throw coach at the time. It was the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece, and he had a team of world-class throwers under his watch.
Still, Steve Lemke couldn't help but notice an 18-year-old thrower from Tbilisi, Georgia.
Just over a year later, now as the throw coach for the University of Florida, Lemke found himself in that very 18-year-old's home at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.
"She was the first athlete I recruited when I came to UF," said Lemke, who retired at the end of last season after spending 16 years with the Gators.
She is UF Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2020 inductee Mariam Kevkhishvili. She's one of the greatest track and field athletes to ever come through UF. And she wouldn't have even stepped foot in the United States had it not been for Lemke's belief she belonged.
After befriending Kevkhishvili in the 2004 Olympics, she was his top recruiting priority once he became UF's throw coach.
First, to find her, Lemke emailed Georgia's National Olympic Committee in Tbilisi. He was directed to her coach, an elderly man who couldn't speak a word of English. Yet it was the coach's English-speaking daughter who answered when Lemke called.
"If it were him on the phone with no English, that'd be the end of it." Lemke said. "It was meant to be."
Meeting with Lemke in-person at her home in Georgia was all Kevkhishvili needed to feel comfortable traveling across the world for college. He stayed in Tbilisi for three days. He met Kevkhishvili's extended family. And he quickly became a close friend.
"He stood out from all the recruiting letters I received," Kevkhishvili said. "He laid out my future (at UF). He was the reason why I came here."
When she arrived in Gainesville, she was too shy to say a word.
But on Friday night, when Kevkhishvili is officially inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame, she'll have plenty to say.
Fifteen years ago, when Kevkhishvili first landed in the United States, she found herself immersed in a culture that was far from her comfort zone.
"I was very lost," she said. "It was hard. But I knew I just had to keep moving forward, not backward."
Now, she's an assistant track and field coach for the University of South Florida. She's been a coach for 11 years. She left UF a legend.
Kevkhishvili tied the school record with five individual NCAA titles, in addition to winning five individual SEC championships and being an eight-time USTFCCCA All-America First-Team honoree. She was also a two-time SEC Field Athlete of the Year in 2009 and 2010 and became the second woman in NCAA history to win consecutive indoor and outdoor NCAA titles in the shot put.
But none of that would have been possible without her uncanny determination and work ethic.
"There's a lot of people that couldn't do what she did," said Kelly Bradley, Kevkhishvili's UF academic advisor.
Bradley has helped hundreds of Gators athletes during her nearly two decades at UF. But few, if any, stood out like Kevkhishvili.
"She is the hardest worker that I … know," Bradley said. "She was determined."
Kevkhishvili says it was those that helped her while at UF that enabled her to achieve success. But as Bradley explains, Kevkhishvili's attitude made helping her a pleasure.
"When she got here, we knew she was this special, amazing athlete," Bradley said. "But then we actually got to meet the special, amazing person that she is. That is her core."
Beyond the immense success she found on the field, Kevkhishvili overcame the obstacles that stood in her way with her character.
Florida's head track and field coach Mike Holloway knows that Kevkhishvili meant more to his team than just her performance on the field.
"Mariam was definitely a world-class athlete," Holloway said. "But she's also a world-class person. She's one of my all-time favorites. I love her to death."
Seventeen years ago, Lemke saw something special in an 18-year-old he had only just met. He knew a move across the planet would be far from easy. But he knew that Mariam Kevkhishvili was different.
"Nothing was easy," Lemke said. "But with her support network and her own personality, she'd just overcome. She never quit."
Mariam Kevkhishvili, an incredible athlete, an incredible person and now a member of the UF Athletic Hall of Fame.
Still, Steve Lemke couldn't help but notice an 18-year-old thrower from Tbilisi, Georgia.
Just over a year later, now as the throw coach for the University of Florida, Lemke found himself in that very 18-year-old's home at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.
"She was the first athlete I recruited when I came to UF," said Lemke, who retired at the end of last season after spending 16 years with the Gators.
She is UF Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2020 inductee Mariam Kevkhishvili. She's one of the greatest track and field athletes to ever come through UF. And she wouldn't have even stepped foot in the United States had it not been for Lemke's belief she belonged.
After befriending Kevkhishvili in the 2004 Olympics, she was his top recruiting priority once he became UF's throw coach.
First, to find her, Lemke emailed Georgia's National Olympic Committee in Tbilisi. He was directed to her coach, an elderly man who couldn't speak a word of English. Yet it was the coach's English-speaking daughter who answered when Lemke called.
"If it were him on the phone with no English, that'd be the end of it." Lemke said. "It was meant to be."
Meeting with Lemke in-person at her home in Georgia was all Kevkhishvili needed to feel comfortable traveling across the world for college. He stayed in Tbilisi for three days. He met Kevkhishvili's extended family. And he quickly became a close friend.
"He stood out from all the recruiting letters I received," Kevkhishvili said. "He laid out my future (at UF). He was the reason why I came here."
When she arrived in Gainesville, she was too shy to say a word.
But on Friday night, when Kevkhishvili is officially inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame, she'll have plenty to say.
Fifteen years ago, when Kevkhishvili first landed in the United States, she found herself immersed in a culture that was far from her comfort zone.
"I was very lost," she said. "It was hard. But I knew I just had to keep moving forward, not backward."
Now, she's an assistant track and field coach for the University of South Florida. She's been a coach for 11 years. She left UF a legend.
Kevkhishvili tied the school record with five individual NCAA titles, in addition to winning five individual SEC championships and being an eight-time USTFCCCA All-America First-Team honoree. She was also a two-time SEC Field Athlete of the Year in 2009 and 2010 and became the second woman in NCAA history to win consecutive indoor and outdoor NCAA titles in the shot put.
But none of that would have been possible without her uncanny determination and work ethic.
"There's a lot of people that couldn't do what she did," said Kelly Bradley, Kevkhishvili's UF academic advisor.
Bradley has helped hundreds of Gators athletes during her nearly two decades at UF. But few, if any, stood out like Kevkhishvili.
"She is the hardest worker that I … know," Bradley said. "She was determined."
Kevkhishvili says it was those that helped her while at UF that enabled her to achieve success. But as Bradley explains, Kevkhishvili's attitude made helping her a pleasure.
"When she got here, we knew she was this special, amazing athlete," Bradley said. "But then we actually got to meet the special, amazing person that she is. That is her core."
Beyond the immense success she found on the field, Kevkhishvili overcame the obstacles that stood in her way with her character.
Florida's head track and field coach Mike Holloway knows that Kevkhishvili meant more to his team than just her performance on the field.
"Mariam was definitely a world-class athlete," Holloway said. "But she's also a world-class person. She's one of my all-time favorites. I love her to death."
Seventeen years ago, Lemke saw something special in an 18-year-old he had only just met. He knew a move across the planet would be far from easy. But he knew that Mariam Kevkhishvili was different.
"Nothing was easy," Lemke said. "But with her support network and her own personality, she'd just overcome. She never quit."
Mariam Kevkhishvili, an incredible athlete, an incredible person and now a member of the UF Athletic Hall of Fame.
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