Emily Harrison is an active member of the Kaysville community and a Scottish Highland Games Athlete. Besides being a mom, a full-time employee, and a wife, she trains and competes in different championships and events. On June 11, Harrison participated in the Utah Scottish Festival at the Utah State Fairpark. The following week, she competed at the 2022 Scottish Masters Athletics International Masters World Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. In both events, she did great and placed second. 

From an early age, Harrison went against the odds taking firsts in sports usually dominated by men. She was a high school All-American Track & Field Hammer thrower. In addition, she made the U.S. Junior Elite Hammer team. She also trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center at Chula Vista, California, in 1997. 

In the summer of 2017, Harrison, her three children, and her husband attended the Utah Scottish Festival and Highland Games in Salt Lake City. That’s when she got to know about the  Highland Games in person. She had read about it in a newspaper 15 years earlier in Hawaii and had thought about it as something she would like to do someday. Her supportive husband, a retired U.S. Army soldier, inquired in the Utah Heavy Athletics about how to get into the sport. Harrison signed, and due to her track and field background, she bypassed the novice class and went straight to the C class. She trained one time the week before the events were held and took second place among experienced throwers. 

In 2020, during the pandemic, she went back to the gym and began training with former professional Highland Gamer Ryan Stewart. Harrison expressed that under his training and direction, her Highland Games career took off. That same year she moved to A class and, by the end of the season, was at the top of her game. The following year, she received her first invite to compete professionally at the Longs Peak Scottish Festival and Highland Games in Colorado. She placed 5th at the 2021 Scottish Masters Athletics International Masters World Championship held in Austin, TX. 

Harrison stated that she feels very supported in Utah but not nationally. She says she has competed in a couple of out-of-state games “where the women were treated fairly terribly.” Harrison explained that at this point, even though women can be hard throwers, there isn’t an actual professional class for women. Female throwers who can throw as any professional thrower male are known as elites rather than pros.

“It will be great when women can be more accepted and invited to compete professionally at some of the larger festivals in the country,” she said.  Despite the discrimination and criticism that female athletes face, Harrison has kept being true to her passion. In high school, she was the first class of young women allowed to throw hammers at that level. 

Emily Harrison exemplifies perseverance, hard work, and passion for sports. She doesn’t shy away from challenges; on the contrary, she takes up the challenge and puts in the effort to do her very best. λ