Bowling Green, Ky. - Raigo Toompuu will be the second of three Hilltoppers to compete in the 2012 London Olympic Games early Friday morning.

Toompuu, a 2005 WKU graduate, will represent Estonia in the shot put. He was chosen by his native country on June 18th after tossing the shot 65 feet, nine inches to meet Olympic "B" cut standards.

Toompuu is one of 37 Olympic hopefuls looking to capture a medal during Friday's competition. The preliminary round is slated for 4:00 AM (CT) with finals set for 2:30 PM (CT).

The Olympic journey began long ago for the 31-year old hurler, with his tenure at WKU being a vital stop along the way. Toompuu dominated the Sun Belt Conference in the shot put and discus during each of his four years on the Hill, winning four outdoor titles in each. He added three indoor shot put championships, and another in the weight throw.

"Raigo was a worker," said Erik Jenkins, who was an assistant coach during Toompuu's time at WKU and currently stands as head coach for WKU's men's and women's track squads. "He would get in the weight room and work. He would get in the {throwing} circle and work. When Raigo came in you knew where he was going. He was going to work."

Toompuu's work resulted in 12 individual Sun Belt titles, four Sun Belt Outdoor Championship Top Scorer honors (2002-2005), four NCAA Championship qualifications (2002-2005), three Sun Belt Most Outstanding Field Performer awards (2003-2005), All-American honors (2005) and a school record in the discus (192-10).

Jenkins recalls Toompuu's arrival at WKU in 2002 and remembers his hesitant attitude in adapting to American-style training. After what Jenkins called a "give-and-take relationship" between Toompuu and strength and conditioning coach Duane Hall began to prosper, so did Toompuu's performance.

Combining his native European style training with WKU's American-style training created a system that not only helped Toompuu flourish, but has helped transcend the overall WKU track and field program.

"Raigo coming to WKU opened the doors to a different process in training throwers, sprinters and jumpers," said Jenkins. "We have created a system for our athletes that can rival almost any school. We've built the WKU brand."

The brand has produced a long line of success in the WKU track and field program, for throwers in particular.

Ignacio Guerra --2008 Chilean Olympian -- came to WKU to compete in his junior and senior seasons, earning All-American honors in the javelin throw in both 2011 and 2012. Guerra also set a Chilean national record while competing for the Hilltoppers in 2011, hurling the javelin 258 feet and two inches.

Other WKU All-American throwers since Toompuu include Laura Igaune, who set the Latvian hammer throw record in 2011, and Monteka Flowers, who earned discus All-America honors in 2012.

"We've been very, very blessed," said Jenkins, who has led WKU to 22 Sun Belt Championships in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field since 2008.

Jenkins said Toompuu has been on the cusp of Olympic qualifying for a long time and it's a rarity to see someone his age throwing their lifetime bests.

"We're extremely proud of him for getting here," he said. "He's the standard of a true athlete, a constant competitor."