Amin Nikfar, shown competing in 2012, coached an NCAA champion at Southeastern Louisiana.
STANFORD, Calif. -- Two-time Olympian Amin Nikfar has been named throws coach for the Stanford track and field team.
Nikfar, a 2006 Cal graduate and shot put competitor for Iran, coached throws and the high jump at Southeastern Louisiana the past three seasons and served as the school's associate head coach.
"We are really excited to have Amin join our program and coach our throwers," said Chris Miltenberg, Stanford's Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field. "He came highly recommended by some of the most experienced coaches in our sport across the entire country. The rest of our coaching staff and I all knew after spending time with Amin that he was an ideal fit for Stanford and our program."
Nikfar coached Alex Young to the men's U.S. hammer and 35-pound weight throw titles and an NCAA weight throw championship in 2017. Young also was an IAAF World Championships qualifier and NCAA hammer runner-up finisher. Nikfar's athletes at Southeastern Louisiana earned four All-America honors. He coached 11 NCAA East Prelims qualifiers, nine Southland Conference champions and 15 conference podium finishers.
Nikfar competed in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games and in two World Championships. He was a nine-time Iranian champion and broke national records six times. He was the 2004 Asian indoor champion and still ranks No. 6 on Cal's all-time list in the shot at 61-11 from 2004. His lifetime best of 65-9 ½ (20.05 meters) from 2011 remains an Iranian record.
Stanford women throwers scored 31 points at the NCAA Championships last month, steering the Cardinal to a narrow third-place team finish. Stanford returns four first-team outdoor All-America throwers – NCAA women's javelin champ and runner-up Mackenzie Little and Jenna Gray, women's shot put third-placer Lena Giger (who returns for indoors only), and men's javelin fourth-placer Trevor Danielson -- as well as 2017 U.S. junior men's javelin champ Liam Christensen, who redshirted as a freshman last season.
"His experience as a student-athlete at Cal, an Olympian and, most recently, as a rapidly emerging top collegiate throws coach make him a perfect fit for us and I have no doubt he is the right person to continue not only elevating our throws group but helping drive our entire program to be among the very best in the country every year," Miltenberg said.
Nikfar was born in San Jose, grew up in Santa Clara, and was a two-time state shot put qualifier at Wilcox High School. His coach there was Mike Buncic, a two-time Olympian who holds the Cobb Track and Angell Field discus record (226-3, 68.98m).
Nikfar coached throws in 2014 at St. Francis High in Mountain View and went on to coach throws, jumps, and multis for two seasons at University of New Orleans, where his athletes combined for nine school records and a Southland Conference championship.
"I am thankful to be given the opportunity to join Stanford Track and Field," Nikfar said. "Stanford is a special place and I am honored to return home to the Bay Area to be a part of Stanford's tradition and culture of excellence."