IT'S ALL ABOUT ALLMAN
from James O'Brien in Tokyo
Day 2 - Sunday, September 14th
With the greatest of respect to our elite female hammer throwers who competed in their qualifying rounds this morning, today was all about Valarie Allman, the two-time Olympic discus champion and world #1, who, this evening, was going in search of the world championships gold medal that has eluded her, thus far, in her celebrated career.
Allman has been the world’s preeminent discus thrower for the last handful of years, going unbeaten since 2023 and placing a mark on her event that puts one in mind of another NYAC discus icon, the late great Al Oerter. In yesterday morning’s qualifying rounds, Allman gave every indication that this victory was hers for the taking, with a one and done throw that gave her an immediate advancement to the final; but, tonight’s competition for all the marbles would be an entirely different kettle of fish, irrespective of excessive metaphors and no idea of what a kettle of fish may be.
That said, this morning’s women's hammer qualifying rounds were not devoid of their own drama. Deanna Price, the 2019 world champion, now back on top after a few years of career-threatening injury, and 2022 world champion and 2025 world leader, Brooke Andersen, were both throwing in Group A, seeking to get through to tomorrow evening’s final and, thereafter, chase medals. Price advanced perfunctorily with a 74.99m/246-0 throw on her second attempt that saw her move through automatically.
“I got injured in 2021,” she proffered. “That’s when things started to go sideways. I broke my ankle, tore my hip. I had a lot going on. It’s nice to come back. That’s how it was meant to be. It is full circle. I am taking it year by year and enjoying the process again, enjoying little moments like this one.”
Andersen, however, inexplicably fouled all three of her attempts and exited the competition, a stunning blow for her, having been a legitimate medal contender.
Price is certainly among the most powerful contenders to make the podium, having the fourth best throw in the world this year coming into this competition (78.53m/257-7) and boasting an all-time best of 80.31m/263-6, the US record. Inevitably, she will not have it all her own way in the final, with Canada’s Camryn Rogers (reigning Olympic champion) and China’s Jie Zhao (Paris Olympics bronze medalist) being just two of the powerhouse competitors also vying for the front of the field. It will be a war.
As it was this evening in the battle for hardware in the women’s discus final. As oft stated, Allman was the favorite; but, if medals were distributed based solely on reputation....well, we wouldn’t have been sitting here watching this enthralling competition. Which it was. Even with plentiful drama underway on the track, spectators were enraptured by the exploits of Allman and her peers. From the opening throw, the intensity of this competition was evident.
Allman threw first, launching a superb 67.63m/221-10 that immediately drew a line in the sand for the other 11 competitors in this final, among them the defending champ, Allman’s US teammate, Laulauga Tausaga (who reached a tepid 57.64m/189-01 on her first attempt). So, at the end of round one, Allman held the lead, though by a dangerously close 13cms from the always intimidating Jorinde Van Klinken from the Netherlands. The order remained unchanged through the second and third rounds, with Allman at the head of the field (67.63m/221-10), Van Klinken in second (67.50m/221-5) and Cuba’s Silinda Morales third (67.25m/220-7). Tausaga held fourth with a distant 65.49m/214-10 as the second half of the competition began. At this stage, only the leading 10 receive three additional throws; as the leader, Allman would throw last.
The sole change in round four was that Tausaga slipped back to fifth, displaced by the 65.82m/215-11 of Croatia’s two-time Olympic champion, Sandra Elkasevic. But, if it hadn't been already, now it was getting tense, most particularly for the women up front. All of the throwers in the medal positions were keenly aware that it is the last two rounds that are the most dangerous. That is when last effort heaves can oftentimes set the cat among the pigeons. (Just ask shot put legend, Joe Kovacs; it was in round six of the US championships this year that he went from being a world championships medal contender to being bounced into fourth place and off the US team). Allman, clearly, had no intention of opening that kind of window. Her fifth throw, the last of that round, sailed out to 69.48m/227-11, morphing a slim advantage to one that was demonstrative, commanding - dare it be said, unapproachable?
Which is not to say that Van Klinken, Morales and the other contenders did not give it their best in the sixth and final round. They certainly did. It’s just that their best was not THE best. That distinction belonged to the NYAC woman. She fouled her last; but, it made no difference. On this day, Allman was the unquestioned standard bearer, the best in the world. Three of her four legal throws would have won the gold medal, a medal that now completes her collection: gold, silver and bronze from world championships competition, not forgetting the two Olympic golds.
The new champ was ecstatic. "To become Olympic champion here in 2021 and now to become world champion! Tokyo is my favorite city in the whole world!"
With all of that nail-biting throwing action behind us, what could be better than more? Rudy Winkler and Daniel Haugh will be in action tomorrow morning in the qualifying rounds of the men’s hammer throw. Both are in Group B, which kicks off at 10:45am Tokyo time/9:45pm Sunday in New York. Both men, subject to advancing, are medal contenders.
Speaking of which, at 9pmTT/8amNY tomorrow, 2019 world hammer champion, Deanna Price, will be trying to regain that title. It will be tense, it will be fraught, it will be unmissable. Don't.