Down to her last throw, Stephanie Brown-Trafton comes up with huge effort

Not only is Galt's Stephanie Brown-Trafton advancing to the finals of the 2008 Olympic discus competition, but her mark of 62.77 meters (205 feet, 11 inches) was an exclamation point in Friday's qualification round in Beijing.

Brown-Trafton's toss was the farthest in the field of 37, catapulting the two-time Olympian into the finals for the first time. The finals will take place on Monday at 4 a.m.

"I felt relieved to be through to the next round," Brown-Trafton said in an e-mail on Friday. "I hope this will take the tension off the Monday competition."

While the final result was as good as Brown-Trafton could have hoped for, the day didn't start off like she probably imagined.

After warming up with two throws outside of the National Stadium on the warm-up track, Trafton-Brown was feeling good. When she entered the Bird's Nest, as the venue is nicknamed, she could feel a change in the energy level.

In her first throw of the competition, Brown-Trafton came up well short of the 61.50-meter qualifying mark at 57.78. When she stepped in the ring to throw again, things got worse. The discus sailed 100 feet out and her foot crossed the line, which wiped out her second attempt.

So it all came down to her last heave and she made it count. The throw blew her other two tosses out of the water. It also went 10 inches farther than the second-best throw from Nicoleta Grasu of Romania.

Discus finals

When: Monday, 4 a.m.
On TV: Monday, 9 p.m. to midnight (track and field finals)

On to the discus finals

Friday's qualifiers
Competitor, Country, Best Mark in feet (meters)
Stephanie Brown-Trafton, USA, 205-11 (62.77)
Nicoleta Grasu, Romania, 205-1 (62.51)
Iryna Yatchenko, Belarus, 204-3 (62.26)
Yarelys Barrios, Cuba, 204-2 (62.23)
Melina Robert Michon, France, 204-1 (62.21)
Aretha Thurmond, USA, 203-1 (61.9)
Aimin Song, China, 202-3 (61.67)
Vera Cechlova, Czech Republic, 202-1 (61.61)
Ll Yanfeng, China, 201-1 (61.29)
Olena Antonova, Ukraine, 200-11 (61.25)
Dani Samuels, Australia, 200-11 (61.25)
Elina Zvereva, Belarus, 197-9 (60.28)

The discus finals will be held at 4 a.m. Monday. They are scheduled to be part of NBC's delayed broadcast which will air from 9 p.m. to midnight on Monday.

Brown-Trafton said a key to the long distance of her final toss was just trying to relax.

"I just looked up and asked God to help me be a little less nervous and let my body take over the throws," she said. "I have been practicing this for a long time so the technique is solid. It is the mental game that will make us or break us at this point."

Brown-Trafton's U.S. teammate Aretha Thurmond of Federal Way, Wash., will be joining her in the 12-thrower finals, as she recorded a mark of 203 feet, 1 inch. The third American in the competition, Suzy Powell-Roos of Modesto, did not make the final cut. Her longest throw measured 190 feet, 4 inches.

By having two Americans in the finals, the U.S. has a better shot at medalling in discus — which it has not done since 1984. Trafton-Brown also hopes it might change the sport's image in America.

"I am glad that the USA has depth in the discus throw," she said. "This will hopefully inspire the upcoming generation of discus throwers and give them confidence that the USA has what it takes to compete on a world-class level."

Brown-Trafton will now have the weekend to prepare for the finals. Knowing she not only had the longest mark in the qualifiers, but also that she at one time had the longest throw in the world this year — 217 feet, 1 inch set on May 8 in Salinas — can't hurt her mind set.

"I am excited about the finals and I hope I can take a certain level of confidence into the ring and give it all I have," she said.

Reader Feedback

Whoa Nellie! wrote on Aug 16, 2008 4:57 PM:

" This is so great to have Olympic athletes living in our area!

GO Stephanie!

Why does she have to leave all of her electronic stuff while every time we see Michael Phelps he has his iPod in his ears? Curious George stikes again... "

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