AFTER THROWING 228-3 (69.59) in the qualifying round, the best toss at an Olympic Games since 1996, Valarie Allman appeared primed to defend her Olympic gold medal.
Then her first attempt in the final at Stade de France was not only a foul, but not very far, either.
“It felt so wrong!” Allman said. “I felt like a fish out of water. I was like, ‘I do not feel like a discus thrower in this moment.’ And I think discus is so much about rhythm and timing and feel, and I wasn’t quite calibrated.”
The 29-year-old quickly composed herself, uncorking a mark of 225-6 (68.74) on her next attempt.
“I knew that second throw was going to be enough to probably medal,” Allman said, “but I wanted more.”
She followed up with marks of 223-3 (68.06) and 228-0 (69.50), the latter the eventual winner.
“Slowly I started connecting more with my body and it felt like in round 4 things really started to align,” Allman said.
Her coach, Zeb Sion, said he could finally breathe again. “The first throw was a little scary,” he said, “but she rebounded.”
However, Allman took nothing for granted. After all, the world title eluded her in 2023 when USA teammate Lagi Tausaga threw a personal best on her fifth throw to take the gold in Budapest.
And Allman knew there were “two lurking sharks who are very hungry.” They were Sandra Elkasević (nee Perković) of Croatia, the two-time Olympic champion in 2012 and 2016 and two-time world champ in 2013 and 2017, and Bin Feng, the 2022 world champion and 2023 bronze medalist.
Elkasević threw a season-best 221-6 (67.51) in the third round to move from 4th place into 2nd. Feng threw the same distance on her third attempt and had the superior second throw as Elkasević fouled her final three attempts.
“I am happy I am on this podium, it’s nice to be back,” said Elkasević, the “discus queen” who was 4th in Tokyo. “It’s also nice to be fighting with these girls.”
Elkasević said she doesn’t like when anyone beats her, but if someone had to do it, she was glad it was Allman and Feng. “I think the podium is reflective of who the top three women were this year, and that’s good,” Elkasević said.
Allman knew she had the gold medal wrapped up when she entered the ring for her final throw, and the 227-foot attempt (69.21) was her fourth…
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