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One step closer to Beijing
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Photo by Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Stephanie Brown Trafton, who lives in Galt, trains in the discus cage at Sacramento City College Friday morning in preparation for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials- Track and Field, which begin June 27.
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By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports
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When Stephanie Brown Trafton is asked about her favorite place to compete, the discus thrower names a place pretty familiar to her.
“From a travel perspective, my favorite place to compete is Sacramento, because I don’t have to go very far,” Trafton said by phone on June 17.
This weekend, however, the Galt resident and Olympic hopeful will compete at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, with the hope of doing well enough to go to a place farther away- the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
She has been to the Olympics before- Trafton was part of the 2004 Olympic team in Athens, Greece- but if she makes this year’s team, Trafton’s dreams may be within reach.
“I was on the Olympic team in 2004. The last time I went to the Olympics, nobody really expected me to make the team,” Trafton said.
“This time I hope to actually compete with the world class throwers and be able to make the final and be in contention for a medal,” said Trafton.
Trafton is expected to do well at the Olympic Trials, which take place June 27- July 6.
Earlier this year, she set her personal record with a throw of 217.1 for a first-place finish at Salinas.
To help her prepare for the Trials, she said that staying focused is a key for her while she practices throwing or doing agility training.
“My schedule seems like it’s a lot more intense because it’s really coming down to being sharp mentally and I don’t have the luxury of losing focus. I have to be focused all the time,” Trafton said.
Trafton, who works out with trainer Tony Mikla in Rancho Cordova, normally practices throwing discus three times a week and does sprint or agility training the rest of the week.
“Tony has really helped me to gain a lot of agility and flexibility so that I can actually implement my throwing technique,” Trafton said.
She said that having competed at Hayward Field at the Prefontaine Classic so recently (and won) will make the Trials a comfortable atmosphere in which she can do her best.
“I believe that the Prefontaine Classic prepared us to throw at the trials. It gave us the opportunity to check out the cage,” said Trafton, who moved to Galt in 2005 after marrying her husband, Jerry, who had recently moved to the city.
She will be taking time off of her job at Sycamore Environmental Consultants, Incorporated in Sacramento to compete at the Olympic Trials, but Trafton is able to do so with the help of grants and sponsors.
Having received a $4,000 grant from the USA Track and Field Foundation in April will help cover the costs of taking time off of work and traveling to meets such as the Trials.
Track and Field athletes have the opportunity to apply for the grants every year, Trafton said, and this year she was one of 15 to receive the Elite Athletic Development Grant on April 25.
While her ultimate goal is break the American record in the discus throw, over the next week Trafton will concentrate on securing a gold medal at the Olympic Trials.
“I’m thinking that I’d like to throw at least 64 or 65 meters. That would probably be a winning throw,” Trafton said.
“I think I have a very good chance and I’m working hard to be able to come home with the gold medal at the trials.”
Qualifying for the women’s discus event takes place June 27 and the discus finals will take place Sunday at approximately 3:15 p.m., according to www.usatf.org, USA Track and Field’s official Web site.
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