Valarie Allman, with a newfound energy, charges into Olympics in women’s discus

Follow our Olympics coverage in the lead-up to the Paris Games.

EUGENE, Ore. — Valarie Allman’s gold medal was secured. Her spot in Paris was never really in question. Whatever suspense existed in the women’s discus competition ended when reigning world champ Laulauga Tausaga-Collins fouled all three throws in the first round of these U.S. Olympic track and field trials.

Still, Allman, on her sixth and final throw Thursday, went for it, summoning her best stuff in the moment. Because the crowd at Hayward Field egged her on with a rhythmic clap. Because the memories of not producing when it counted most at the last two world championships left a mark. Because she’s got her former vibes back — the thrill of the hunt, the peace to just let it fly.

She didn’t hit her personal best of 71.46, the American record she set in 2022. But her sixth throw Thursday landed 70.73 meters. She threw 70.89 in the first round on Monday.

The U.S. champion in women’s discus heads to Paris to defend her gold medal having thrown at least 70 meters in back-to-back rounds. She’s never done that before. She’s also never hit that special 70 mark in a big-time meet before this. Progress for the woman who seems so inevitable.

“I have the potential to be the best I’ve ever been,” Allman, 29, said. “To actually do that, to see that mark pop up, it’s definitely compelling my energy right now.”

Only two other throwers have hit the coveted 70-meter mark in the last five years. Allman has now done it nine times.

Jayden Ulrich finished second place at trials with a longest throw of 62.63 meters. Veronica Fraley took third at 62.54. Ulrich, who just completed her junior season at Louisville, has not met the Olympic standard, which requires having an official throw of 64.50 meters, so she must wait for the newest World Athletics rankings to see if that route qualifies her for Paris.

Allman effectively won the event on her first throw of the day: 67.19 meters, her shortest of Thursday’s final. With not much challenge in the American field, she competed against herself. She seized the moment to tap into the liberation she’s found, the weight of Olympic success having been lifted.

These last 10 months have been a psychological recalibration. Finishing third in the 2022 world championships and second in last year’s edition was revealing to Allman. The weight of her Olympic gold medal in 2021 has been heavy.

Thursday, she found the ability to dig deep and pull out her best on cue. A new skill Allman has in her repertoire.

“Truthfully,” Allman said, “it was pretty hard the last two world championships that when the competition got hot, not being able to respond. So I think I gained a lot of confidence from that sixth-round throw. The whole stadium clapping, being able to do it in the moment. I think that’s one of those tricks I’ll now have in my back pocket.”

If she can pull out a 70-meter throw when she needs to, it’s going to be tough to prevent her second straight Olympic gold medal.

The Stanford product said she can do that now because of a shifted mindset. She has hobbies, such as cooking. She has a dog. She has friends again and now makes room in her life for board games and phone calls and hanging out.

It was hard to do that while desperate to live up to the pressure of winning gold in Tokyo. Allman rose to the elite in her discipline with full devotion. Two-time Olympian Kara Winger, who is going for a third trip in javelin this weekend, remembers the transformation after the pandemic.

“It was very clear,” Winger said, “from the little bit that was posted on social media, that they were taking full advantage of that time to do some technical change stuff but also work as hard as possible in the weight room. … It was really, really cool to see the effect from focused, intentional training. And the incredible thing is she’s held that standard ever since.”

Valarie Allman throws Thursday at U.S. Olympic trials. The defending gold medalist goes to Paris with, she says, “the potential to be the best I’ve ever been.” (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

Allman has a physique that looks photoshopped but in real life. Her work ethic and meticulousness in training are evident in her sculpted 6-foot frame.

Her strength colludes with the agility she harnessed in her dancing days. Discus calls for the kind of body control, body awareness, stretching and energy transference she developed as a serious dancer.

Allman worked diligently at maximizing those capacities.

As Winger explained, Allman managed to put discus power into a dancer’s body. It makes for an exceptional thrower.

But maintaining at the top of the sport has proved more a mental challenge than a physical one. She said the unbalanced life she needed to become great eventually took a toll.

Now, watching Allman compete, her vivaciousness starts to pop more than her eight-pack. The dancer comes out in the pageantry of her disposition. In the airy way she moves in the discus circle. In a wide smile and bubbly wave as inviting as her biceps are intimidating.

Allman has discovered the contrast between wanting to win and needing to win. She found the space on the Venn diagram where full commitment and proper perspective overlap, and she finds it much more peaceful there.

That peace has been refreshing.

“In 2021, it was so fun to be the underdog and climbing,” Allman said. “I think the last two years, I just felt pressure and I lost that excitement to go for it. And I feel like it’s just back. Whatever the result is, I’m really grateful for how life has changed. To have more balance and consistency outside of track. I feel like it’s showing itself now when I walk into the ring. It’s helping me get to that next level that I’ve always hoped was there.”

GO DEEPER

Sha'Carri Richardson and a deep 200m field take spotlight at Olympic trials

(Top photo of Valarie Allman during Thursday’s women’s discus throw final: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)