2024-08-06 06:55:01
Valarie Allman of the United States won the athletics women’s discus throw gold medal at Paris 2024 with a powerful performance, throwing a distance of 69.50m at Stade de France on Monday, 5 August.
For the 29-year-old Allman, it’s the second Olympic gold on her résumé, having also won this event at Tokyo 2020.
Allman fouled on her first attempt of the competition as the discus landed outside of the boundaries. She immediately responded by taking the lead on her second try with a throw of 68.74m. This number alone would have won the event, but she bested it on her fourth attempt with the winning throw of 69.50m. Allman holds the USA national record at 71.46m and is now the fourth woman ever to win two Olympic gold medals in discus.
“In discus, there’s so few people that get to do it as a profession. To do this full time, it is an honor,” she said. “It takes a lot of devotion, too, but I think in my journey, it’s kind of just been finding the right people that believed in me at the right time, that saw far more potential than I saw myself, and letting the story unfold in a way that I only could have dreamed of.”
Feng Bin of the People’s Republic of China and Sandra Elkasevic of Croatia earned silver and bronze, respectively, with both throwing a distance of 67.51m.
“The distance was so-so, but to win my first Olympic medal is something I’m very happy about,” Feng said. “I expected to throw about 68 metres to 69 metres, but I had some issues about two weeks before the meet and it affected my power a little. But maybe I’m just finding excuses for myself.
“I lost a bit of sleep last night. Still some nerves. I probably rate myself 80 out of 100. The remaining 20 points, I lost it by not being able to get myself to the top.”
Elkasevic, a three-time Olympic medalist, echoed a similar sentiment of pride despite being slighty disappointed.
“I am amazed because this is my third medal after the gold in Rio and London. After being fourth in Tokyo, I am back. I threw my season’s best,” she said. “It was a very hard competition. I want to enjoy this moment and I can’t wait to come back at Los Angeles 2028.
“I know my throw of 67.51 is the same as Feng. She was second with this one. So I am a little bit sad because I didn’t get the silver medal because I really think I deserved it.”
