On Tuesday, March 20, the Monta Vista track & field team–and especially our throwing squad–will be hosting a very special visitor, Stephanie Brown Trafton.
Stephanie is the current Olympic champion in the women’s discus. In Beijing in 2008, Stephanie threw 212′ 5″ to win the gold medal. Stephanie was the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the discus in 76 years, since Lillian Copeland’s victory in 1932!
In high school, Stephanie competed in basketball as well as the discus and shot put, and she went to Cal Poly-SLO on a basketball and track scholarship. Fortunately for fans of track & field, she ended up focusing on track!
Like our own Erica McLain, Stephanie is currently training for the USA Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon this coming June, with an eye on returning to the Olympics this summer in London. She is taking time from her busy training schedule to come down to Cupertino, talk to the track team and provide a clinic to our throwers. Personally, as a track fan, I can’t wait to see her toss a discus across Kennedy fields and into a low-earth orbit! There is nothing like seeing a world class athlete up close and personal.
Make sure you are there next Tuesday to meet her, and don’t forget to show your MV pride that day–it would be a good day to be wearing your MV throwing team, track & field or xcountry shirt, or something that will look good in a photo! You might also want to bring a camera, and maybe find a photo of Stephanie throwing or getting her medal on-line and print that out for her to sign–I’ll bet she would like to do that for you!
