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Gold medal performance meaningful for both Trafton and supporters
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Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images
Stephanie Brown Trafton of Galt competes in the Women's Discus Final at the National Stadium on Day 10 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 18 in Beijing, China.
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By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports
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When Stephanie Brown Trafton saw the result of her first throw in the women’s discus finals at the Beijing Olympic Games, she knew it had a chance of placing her within the top three finalists.
“I knew that my first throw could be a medal winner,” Trafton said by email from Beijing Tuesday. “It might not have been a gold medal throw but I guess I shocked the competition enough that my first throw held until the end.”
Trafton, who is 28, won the gold medal after throwing a distance of 64.74 on her first attempt, beating out Cuba’s Yarelys Barrios and Ukraine’s Olena Antonova, who won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
The win marked the first time the top qualifier in the Olympic women’s discus event also became the gold medallist, said Trafton.
“I actually looked at the statistics of the entire history of the Olympic women’s discus and saw that the number one qualifier has never medalled,” Trafton said.
Trafton’s husband, Jerry, followed the action online as it happened and once they posted the final results of the last throws, knew his wife had captured gold.
“I talked to her about 45 minutes after she finished,” Trafton said. “In just about as much time as it takes her to get on the medal stand, to do her victory lap around the track Then she had to straight to drug testing and she called right away.”
When he asked his wife how she felt standing on the top of the podium, he said that she was ecstatic.
“I asked her what it was like to be on the medal stand and she said it was so great and everything she dreamed of, standing there on the gold medal stand, hearing the national anthem being played,” Trafton said.
Trafton qualified for the finals at Friday’s qualifying round on her third and last try.
She threw 62.77 in that attempt, which put her in the top position for the finals.
Her first two throws had been 57.78 and her second throw did not count, making her last throw a must to qualify for finals.
Having had a solid year prior to the Olympics and then winning the gold, Trafton said that she is hoping to use her success to inspire others.
“It means a lot not just for me but for all of the supporters that have backed me over the years. Before this year I was not even a blip on the map of international discus throwers,” Trafton said.
After shaking hands with her competitors, Trafton took out an American flag that belonged to George Kirbyson and had been flown in Iraq and held it up as she took her victory lap on the track.
“George's flag was flown in Iraq and he asked me if I wanted to take it with me to Beijing,” Trafton said. “I wanted to take it on a victory lap with me when I won a medal so I packed it in my bag when I left the Olympic Village for the meet. I’m glad it was put to good use.”
Trafton will return to the United States on August 25, after the Olympics conclude.
She took the trip to Beijing with her coach, whom she has trained with since she was in high school.
Her husband decided he would stay in Galt and let Trafton and her coach go to Beijing, partially so that she could be at her best when it mattered.
“The time that we would get to do things together would be almost zero, because she has to stay there and be focused. It would be a lot more beneficial for us for her to be with her,” Trafton said of his discussion with his wife on whether to go to China.
While his wife is at the Olympics, he said that he has been spending his weekends outdoors to pass the time.
“I do a lot of outdoor stuff, including fishing, so my weekends have been spent away doing that stuff. It’s part of keeping my mind off the fact that she’s so far away,” said Trafton.
On the broadcast television coverage of the women’s discus medal ceremony, Trafton’s eyes were watery as the national anthem played.
Years of training and watching metal discs soar farther and farther are now wrapped up in one solid package and the gold medal winner from Galt can now go home.
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