Pre Classic Women’s Discus Throw Preview, by Kara Winger
Photo by Jason Suarez
Hi folks! TrackTown USA Throws Ambassador Kara Winger here. I’m so excited to return to Pre Classic this year and watch the world’s best athletes compete at the world’s best meet alongside the world’s best fans.
The second Diamond League stop for this event, this field of women’s discus throwers contains Olympic Champions and medalists, World Champions and medalists, the current world leader, and the most compelling (to me) human interest story in track and field. Five of the six of these athletes competed at the Pre Classic last year, taking the top five spots.
The one athlete on the startlist who did not compete in the 2023 Diamond League Final edition of Pre is Yaime Perez, as she was unable to travel internationally after her defection from Cuba in 2022 until attaining permanent U.S. residency this April. Just after receiving that news, she set what many in the throwing world consider to be the clean World Record, a PanAmerican Area record of 73.09m, which is not just the world lead but the first time any woman has cracked the top ten all-time in the event since the 1980s. Her second to Valarie Allman in Xiamen with a strong 68.83m tells me that her wait for international competition again has not been stagnant, but poised and ready to pounce at the opportunity. I can’t wait to see her do so at Pre. The 2019 World Champion’s last time competing at this historic meet was a full decade ago in 2014.
Valarie Allman, the reigning Olympic Champion and Hayward Field record holder from her 2021 Trials qualifying performance at 70.01m, leads the Diamond League standings after the first meeting in Xiamen in April. She’s undefeated so far in 2024 over five competitions, with a second-best in the world SB of 69.86m. This absolute superstar has won the last three Diamond League trophies in a row, and is therefore the defending Prefontaine Classic Champion: She loves Hayward Field, has had some formative experiences here (overcoming adversity in the form of stressful qualifying rounds will always make you better), and has proven this season that she is ready for anything.
The Croatian discus queen, Sandra Elkasevic, is competing this season with a brand new last name, which in personal experience can be such a fun jumpstart to a career! The double Olympic and double World Champion has won an astounding 46 Diamond League meets and 7 Finals in her incredible, long career. Three of those 46 wins came at the Pre Classic; in 2012 (66.92m), 2014 (69.32m, the meet record), and 2016 (68.57m). Her season opener of 65.60m got her fourth in Xiamen, but she has proven year in and year out that she is dangerous at any moment throughout the summer, and I’m sure her third place from last year’s Final at Pre isn’t sitting right with the veteran.
Photo by Jason Suarez
The first U.S. women’s discus thrower to ever win a World Championship Gold is Laulauga Tausaga (“lauw-LONG-uh tao-SONG-uh”). She burst onto the international discus scene while she was still a junior at Iowa, making the Doha 2019 World final handily, and after fouling out of the 2021 Olympic Trials, returned to the World stage to again secure a finals spot at Oregon 2022. In Eugene at 2022 U.S. Championships, Lagi secured her third straight Worlds berth with a PB in the final round for second to Val, then went to Budapest and turned in one of the most exciting field event performances the world has ever seen, securing victory with a massive four-meter PB in round 5. After standing at the top of the podium with her countrywoman in second too (and as a fellow woman U.S. thrower, standing in the crowd watching Lagi and Val share the podium made me SOB), Lagi backed up her Worlds breakthrough with second at Pre last year, finishing just 30 centimeters back from Valarie with 68.36m. She started her season strong with a 65m effort, and has had mixed results since, but has proven to herself and the world that she can turn any season around, especially in the ring at Hayward.
Tokyo Silver medalist, Kristin Pudenz, has rarely competed in the U.S., but when she comes to Hayward she makes it count. The German got third at Pre in 2022, was a finalist at Oregon 2022 Worlds, and was 5th at last year’s Diamond League Final. She started her season strong with 64.63m for fifth in Xiamen, and looks to bounce back from her first U.S. stop on this trip at the USATF LA Grand Prix.
Dutch double-event athlete Jorinde van Klinken JUST graduated from Oregon in 2023, and returns to her alma mater in search of bigger discus marks than she’s earned so far in 2024. Finishing one spot off of the podium in both of the last two World Championships, the 24-year-old has a very bright future, and told me in LA that she’s looking forward to being in front of a familiar crowd at Hayward once again. Her Netherlands National Record of 70.22m from 2021 and an indoor discus mark of 63.50m from this season’s Indoor Berlin ISTAF meet prove her top-end talent, and Hayward magic very well might help her find it this season.
While Valarie’s consistency this season appears fairly unstoppable, Yaime’s massive mark, Lagi’s ability to show up at any moment, Sandra’s long history of incredible performances, Kristin’s fresh perspective on U.S. competitions, and Jorinde’s home field advantage will make this women’s discus so fun to watch! While the meet record of 69.32m is a tall order, 5 of these 6 women have PBs over that distance. Anything is possible at the Prefontaine Classic for such a stellar group of athletes.