Sports

Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008

Brown Trafton saves her best for last

With the longest throw of the day, former Cal Poly and Arroyo Grande High star qualifies for the Olympic discus final on her last attempt

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Stephanie Brown Trafton said before the Beijing Olympics that she was treating her second Olympic Games like a business trade.

Business went from bust to boom with one throw Friday.

The Arroyo Grande High and Cal Poly graduate qualified for Monday’s discus final at the Olympics with the best throw of the day, 205 feeet, 11 inches, which she reached on her third and final attempt.

“I could really relax now and put together a mental plan for the final on Monday,” Brown Trafton said in a news release.

“This was a big step for me, coming back in the third round to grab a spot in the final round.”

Before that, things were pretty shaky for Brown Trafton.

Brown Trafton’s first throw was 189-6 and she intentionally fouled on her second throw.

She was sitting in 16th place in her flight going into her final throw. Only the top 12 overall throwers from the two flights advanced to Monday’s final.

“I had to control myself on the first throw to make sure I got one in the sector,” Brown Trafton said. “I had to wait another 20 minutes to throw my second attempt and I was even more nervous because I now needed a strong throw to qualify. I had poor technique and the throw went about 100 feet out.”

Prior to her final throw, Brown Trafton wrote some thoughts on a piece of paper.

“I had to write down the things I needed to focus on because, with

all of the distractions around me, it was hard to keep a level head,” she said. “I did a few drills to warm up and asked God to help me relax and guide my feet.

“I stepped in the ring and the only thing I can remember is being relaxed and remembering what my throw should feel like. I let my body take over and put my fears aside.”

Romania’s Nicoleta Grasu won the second flight and had the second-best overall throw Friday at 205-1. She was followed by Iryna Yatchenko of Belarus at 204-3 and Yarelys Barrios at 204-2.

American Aretha Thurmond was sixth overall with a mark of 203-1, advancing to the final round.

Brown Trafton entered the Olympics ranked third in the world this season with a personal record of 217-1, a mark that led the world rankings early in the season.

Russia’s Darya Pischalnikova has the world’s top mark at 220-9, but she reportedly tested positive for drugs before the Olympics and is not competing in Beijing.

Grasua is ranked second in the world at 218-2, and Barrios is fourth at 217-0.

Brown Trafton says there will be no pressure on her in the final.

“You get past the preliminaries and make it to the finals, it can really take the pressure off,” she said.

“That’s why I’m not afraid, because there’s not any more pressure. This was the most pressure I’ll be under.”

No American woman has won an Olympic discus medal since Leslie Deniz won the silver medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

The last American women to win discus medals in a non-boycotted Olympics were Lillian Copeland and Ruth Osborn, who finished first and second, respectively, at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Brown Trafton competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, placing 11th in the first of two groups in the prelims with a mark of 192-1.

She did not advance to the final round.