Craig Kinsley was born January 19, 1989 to parents Tom and Andrea. He began competing in track and field after a broken hand prevented him from playing baseball his junior year of high school. At first, he ran the hurdles and did the high jump. After his hand had healed sufficiently, he added the javelin, throwing with a cast on his hand. During high school, Kinsley was named all-state in the decathlon, high jump, and javelin throw. He graduated from Fairfield College Preparatory School in 2007 and was accepted into Brown University where he studied geology and economics.
Athletic career
At Brown, Kinsley competed in both the high jump and javelin throw. He was a four-time Ivy League Champion and three-time All-American. He finished third in the javelin at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships. In 2010, Kinsley won the NCAA title in javelin. His mark of was more than eight feet better than the second-place finisher. In so doing, Kinsley became just the third individual track and field champion in the school's history. That same year, he finished third at the National Championships with a distance of. Additionally, he was named an Academic All-American and Northeast Region Field Athlete of the Year by the USATFCCCA. Kinsley was injured in 2011 and unable to defend his title as a result. After graduating that spring with degrees in geology and economics, he decided to commit himself solely to the javelin and put everything else on hold. He found the cheapest apartment he could and focused his economic resources on training needs. He continued to train at the Brown facilities in Providence, Rhode Island where he was a volunteer assistant coach. At the June 2012 Olympic Trials, Kinsley finished third with a distance of. Earlier that month, he achieved the Olympic "A" Standard with a new personal best of. The distance made him eligible for the 2012 Summer Olympics and ranked him in the top 20 worldwide for the first time in his career. "For about 90 percent of the victory lap, I was bawling in front of 30,000 people," Kinsley said of making the Olympic team. "I don't know if I can think of a person who'd be more proud to wear red, white and blue." The 2012 Olympics was Kinsley's first international competition. "I'm a total nobody on the international scene, which is awesome because I go in with very little pressure," he remarked. "I go in healthy and throwing the best I've ever thrown. I feel I have some big throws, so I'm ready to surprise people." On August 8, 2012, Kinsley made his Olympic debut in the Qualification round of the Men's Javelin Throw. On his third and final throw of the day he was marked at 78.18 meters, placing him 10th in Group B and 23rd overall. Although the throw was the longest of any American, Kinsley did not advance to the next round of the competition. He was joined in London by his parents, girlfriend, coach, and two old friends. Kinsley was coached by Michelle Eisenreich and sponsored by US Athletic Trust. He describes throwing the javelin as "an incredibly lonely pursuit ... You're training for hours, by yourself. You're putting your body through a lot of stress ... It takes a lot to dedication to do something nobody thinks is cool unless you make the Olympic team."
Coaching career
Kinsley returned to his alma mater Brown University to coach the throwing events in 2016. Since then, his athletes have accumulated many notable accolades: three conference champions, nine top-six finishers in the conference championships, a new school record holder in the hammer throw and the weight throw, and seven additions/improvements in the top 10 all time school records. He is currently working to build an elite javelin squad and aspires to produce a NCAA champion and an Olympic qualifying athlete in the near future.
Personal life
Kinsley currently resides in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He is happily married to adventure photographer Kat Carney.
