King's senior signs letter of intent with University of Illinois

Kim Beard signs letter of intent with U of Illinois
Photo courtesy King's High School

A future U.S. Olympic track and field hopeful celebrated signing her national letter of intent in front of friends and family at King’s High School in Shoreline on Thursday, November 20, 2025, at 3:30pm in Mike Martin Gymnasium, 

Kim Beard officially signed her letter of intent to attend and compete for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini beginning in the fall of 2026.

Beard, in her senior year at King’s High School, was the top-ranked prep hammer thrower in 2024 and a member of the Track and Field News All-American Team. 

Kim Beard hammer throw
Photo courtesy King's High School

She has taken home Washington State 1A championships the last two years in the hammer throw and won the 2024 Junior Olympic Championships. 

In August 2025, Beard set a national group record with a hammer throw of 186’6,” a staggering 10 feet beyond the distance of the second-place finisher. 

She will wrap up her legendary prep career for the King’s Knights in the spring of 2026 before heading to Champaign, Illinois, to compete in the Big Ten conference as part of the women’s track and field program at the University of Illinois.