Olympic discus champion eager to win a first ever world title in Hungarian capital
Before the World Championships in Budapest, AW caught up exclusively with Olympic discus champion Valarie Allman.
She is aiming to add a world title to her name after bronze in Oregon last summer.
We speak to Allman on everything from mindset and motivation to training and tactics.
You’ve had the six biggest throws of the year so far. How do you feel ahead of Budapest?
It’s been a very special season. I’m genuinely looking forward to these championships. I think it’s always interesting what you throw in the Diamond League and how that gives you insight throughout the season. You’re going up against the best in the world and coming away with some victories which is really good.
We’ve dived into routine and preparation in these last few weeks. It’s been about filling up my energy tank to go into battle. I’m excited to try and perform to my best.
You won a fifth US discus title in Oregon. That’s some going!
It was really special. The US Championships is one of those moments where you get to come together with so many of your family, friends and athletes. I was saying to my coach that it was nice to age like a fine wine! It’s always good to figure out how to try and become the best in your country.
You have such an amazing relationship between you and your coach [Zebulon Sion]. How’s that been?
Zebulon Sion is definitely my rock. I didn’t have aspirations of being a professional athlete until I was finishing college and thought I would work in tech. He really saw potential in myself and someone who believed that so many crazy things were possible. We’ve also faced a lot of hardships and it’s also made our bond really strong. I’m grateful to have such a knowledgable and thoughtful person in my corner.
Valarie Allman (Mark Shearman)
Athletes can be seen as robots but they are still human beings with emotions. How do you view that perspective?
There are so many ups and downs. It’s easy to not have transparency and to what that looks like from a daily basis or over a season. I’m trying to do a better job of being more vulnerable when I talk to people. It is like a daily fight to be vulnerable and sometimes competitions may not go the way you want but we just talk about the journey.
If you can focus on the things that go well and nurture that then it makes whatever the result is feel special and meaningful and not that it’s just a win…
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