Beijing Olympic Games

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By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer

BEIJING (AP)—The United States waited four days for its first gold medal in track and field. The breakthrough came in the women’s discus.

Women’s discus?

In an event long dominated by Eastern Europeans, Stephanie Brown Trafton brought home the gold, the first time an American had won the event since the 1936 Los Angeles Games.

The lanky, 6-foot-4 Californian uncorked a throw of 212 feet, 5 inches on her first of six attempts Monday night, then saw the mark hold up for the stunning victory. It was the shortest throw to win an Olympic gold since the 1968 Mexico City Games.

“When you make the finals, anything can happen,” she said. “I had a far throw, nobody stepped up, so I have the gold medal.”

Her love of sports goes back to the 1984 Olympics and a famous gymnast.

“I had a Mary Lou Retton leotard that I wore all the time,” Brown Trafton said, “and I grew out of it quite quickly. I was 6 foot by the time I was in junior high.”

She received a basketball scholarship to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but after tearing a knee ligament, she decided to focus exclusively on track and field.

Brown Trafton made the 2004 Olympic team, but didn’t advance to the finals in Athens. In the following years, there was little to indicate she would win gold.

In May, she gave notice that she could compete, throwing 217-1 at a meet. It’s the No. 3 throw in the world this year.

Brown Trafton lives with her husband, Gary, in Galt, south of Sacramento. She lists herself as her coach but said she uses a broad support group that includes Mac Wilkins, the discus gold medalist at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

She works part time in project management for a Sacramento environmental company, a job she hopes some day to make a full-time career.

In the meantime, she will hone her discus skills.

Her long arms and legs are just right for a discus thrower, but she expects bigger throws.

“I’m working on my strength and speed,” Brown Trafton said. “Those are things that are going to come in time, and it can only get better from here.”