Olympic javelin thrower Todd Riech inducted into Fresno Hall of Fame

He is arguably the best athlete ever from Hot Springs.

And the former Olympic javelin thrower, Todd Riech, is still piling up the honors from his legendary athletic career.

Later this month, Riech, who was born and raised in Hot Springs, will be enshrined in the Fresno (CA) County Hall of Fame for his athletic achievements, which began with a dominating stint as a Hot Springs High School multi-sport star.

Riech, the son of Jack and Gloria Riech, was born in the Montana town in 1970. While attending Hot Springs high, he gained the eye of national track and field experts with his abilities in the sport, particularly the javelin event.

While at HSHS, Riech led the Savage Heat to state Class C track and field championships in 1988 and 1989. As a sophomore, junior and senior at Hot Springs, he won 11 individual state championships during his high school track and field career. As a junior Riech won the 100 meter, 200 meter, 400 meter sprints, as well as the javelin.

The following year as a senior he won those same events while setting a state record in the 400 meter run.

He was also a standout basketball player, averaging 27 points per game as a junior and 30.9 ppg as a senior.

Upon graduation from high school, he turned down athletic scholarship offers in basketball and football to pursue track and field at Fresno State University. While at FSU he earned three all-American designations and set an NCAA record in the javelin in 1994.

Those efforts earned him a spot on the 1995 USA Pan American games, where he finished third. From there he earned a spot on the 1996 USA Olympic track and field team for the Atlanta Summer Olympics in 1996. He finished 17th in Atlanta. He unleashed a personal best throw of 269 feet 5 inches that year and made a total of four USA track and field teams.

Now a certified personal trainer, Riech went on to become coach of the men’s and women’s javelin teams at Fresno State. He and his wife, Brittany, a retired javelin thrower, live in Fresno.

A sign on the highway into Hot Springs proudly claims the town as Riech’s home town.