AN OPENING TOSS of 220-7 (67.25) virtually assured Val Allman a spot on the Tokyo squad, but her desire to protect an undefeated streak dating back to August of ‘23 kept her focused. Even after reaching 228-8 (69.66) in round 2, she declined to relax. Not when weeks of “intense training” in the throwing ring and weightroom had upped her power-clean PR to 275lb (125kg) and her confidence to an all-time high.
Not with Negative Nancys everywhere (and you know who you are) still blathering on about her needing a hurricane to throw historic marks, as when she produced this century’s best result — 241-2 (73.52) — 8 weeks ago in Ramona, Oklahoma. Those folks received a nice dose of shut-up sauce in round 4 when the Stanford alum reached 234-5 (71.45), a Hayward Field and USATF Championships record.
Next on her to-do list: a first WC gold.
The last time Allman vied for one, she was defeated by Lagi Tausaga, also in the field on Sunday. Tausaga had taken her out in Budapest with a 228-0 (69.49) haymaker. For Tausaga, it was a wonderful moment, but also unsettling, and she came into this meet still striving for the kind of lethal stability Allman has achieved.
She made some progress. After fouling out of the ’24 Trials, she was happy here to get two marks — 209-2 (63.75) and 212-9 (64.86) — of the type that would advance her through qualification in Tokyo.
“This,” she said afterwards, “has been a life-altering season. A year ago, I was praying and hoping for 61-meter (200-foot) throws. Now, I’m back with my old coach, Eric Werskey, and I no longer have that feeling when I compete like ‘I don’t know what the hell is going on.’”
In any case, the 27-year-old reigning world champ has a Wild Card, meaning Team USA gets 4 entries for Tokyo.
During practice on Wednesday, Gabi Jacobs launched a disc out of the cage to the left that eventually landed on the track. She was more accurate on Sunday — none of her throws left the park — and booked her Tokyo trip with a 207-9 (63.33) final-round toss that knocked Shelby Frank into 4th.
Frank coached boyfriend Marcus Gustaveson through a nail-biting comp on Saturday, and today his only piece of advice was, “Don’t be like me and wait until the last round to qualify.” Alas, she did exactly that, albeit reaching 200-6 (61.11) on her final attempt to grab a spot on the Japan-bound squad assuming she maintains her place in the WA rankings, which is all but certain. They should have plenty to discuss on the flight.
WOMEN’S DISCUS RESULTS
(August 03)
1. Valarie Allman (Asics/NYAC) 234-5 (71.45) (x, 3 A) (MR)
(220-7, 228-6, 220-10, 234-5, 230-7, 223-6) (67.25, 69.66, 67.33, 71.45, 70.28, 68.12);
2. Lagi Tausaga (Nik) 212-9 (64.86)
(209-2, f, 212-9, f, f, f) (63.75, f, 64.86, f, f, f);
3. Gabi Jacobs (unat) 207-9 (63.33)
(f, 194-11, 183-10, f, 192-8, 207-9) (f, 59.42, 56.03, f, 58.74, 63.33);
4. Shelby Frank (TxT) 200-6 (61.11)
(195-11, 196-4, 192-1, f, f, 200-6) (59.73, 59.85, 58.54, f, f, 61.11);
5. Veronica Fraley (unat) 197-10 (60.31)
(197-10, f, f, f, 194-4, 195-2) (60.31, f, f, f, 59.24, 59.49);
6. Jayden Ulrich (Louis) 197-10 (60.30)
(193-0, 197-10, 185-10, f, f, f) (58.83, 60.30, 56.65, f, f, f);
7. Erika Beistle (GVal) 196-5 (59.87)
(178-4, 192-1, f, 172-7, 191-2, 196-5) (54.36, 58.55, f, 52.60, 58.28, 59.87);
8. Elena Bruckner (unat) 195-6 (59.58)
(177-0, 186-3, 195-6, f, f, f) (53.96, 56.77, 59.58, f, f, f);
9. Cierra Jackson (NYAC) 191-4 (58.33) (191-4, f, 80-0) (58.33, f, 24.38);
10. Rachel Dincoff (unat) 186-4 (56.79); 11. Micaela Hazlewood (unat) 184-8 (56.28); 12. Kaia Harris (unat) 179-1 (54.60)); 13. Kalynn Meyer (unat) 176-7 (53.83); 14. Alexandra Freeman (unat) 175-0 (53.35); 15. Zoe Burleson (TxT) 172-9 (52.67); 16. Essence Henderson (unat) 167-6 (51.05).
