Valarie Allman proved to be the gold standard in the discus for the second straight Olympic games with a 69.50m throw on her fourth attempt on Monday night.
She fouled on her first attempt but did not need a throw past 70m the rest of the way after quickly pushing to the lead with a 68.74m toss on the second throw. Her 69.50m throw on the fourth attempt put the competition out of reach
Allman fouled on her first attempt, landing the discus wide of the right-side boundary, but took the lead on her second try with a throw of 68.74m. She put the competition totally out of reach with the 69.50m on her fourth attempt.
China’s Bin Feng grabbed the silver and Croatia’s Sandra Elkasevi took the bronze and both threw 67.51 meters. But it was clear that Allman was poised to dominate. Each of her four non-foul throws blew past Feng’s best efforts at Stade de France.
“The podium is reflective of who the top three people were in the world this year,” Allman said. “But I knew it was going to be a fight until the very end. I was so nervous all the way through Bin Feng’s last throw.”
Monday’s win was a return to gold for Allman, who won silver in 2023 at World Championships and only bronze in 2022. Those disappointments were the fuel she needed to claim the victory in Paris.
“It’s human nature to draw from your past experiences to think how your future ones are going to go,” she said. “And as you’re trying to write a better and new story, it really takes so much intention and practice and focus to convince yourself that you can be accomplishing your dreams.”
Allman is also hopeful that field events like discus and the shot put get more of the spotlight like their track counterparts. She believes that the exclusion of field from newly announced ventures, like Grand Slam Track, would see the value in creating narratives for what occurs in the middle of the track.
“In all events, particularly the throwing events, there’s such excitement,” she said. “It’s just all about creating a storyline and embracing it. We are willing to go head-to-head all the time and put on great battles.”
