by Bob Burns for the PacificiAssociation/USATF

Her name’s longer now, and so are her throws.

But it’s safe to say Stephanie Brown-Trafton will want to step back in time when she steps into the discus circle at the upcoming U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Ore.

In 2004, when she was still single, Brown unleashed the throw of her life in the first round at the Olympic Trials in Sacramento. She added nine feet to her personal best and surpassed 200 feet for the first time, throwing 203-1 to seize an early lead. Her eventual second-place finish put her on her first U.S. Olympic team.

“That was an awesome experience,” Brown-Trafton said. “Getting a personal best by nine feet shows I can throw under pressure. Sometimes I have a problem practicing with intensity, but I’ve never had trouble competing with intensity.”

She won’t be able to sneak up on anyone this time, however. After not being able to improve on her Sacramento effort for the next three years, Brown-Trafton had the five longest meets of her career in April and May. Her 217-1 throw in Salinas on May 8 is the longest throw in the world this year 

As she approaches her second U.S. Olympic Trials, Brown-Trafton knows she’s in a much different position this time around.

“I’ve always liked being the underdog,” Brown-Trafton said. “It kind of takes the pressure off. This year, it seems like the competition might be coming after me. I just need to be ready to handle it.”

In 2005, Brown moved to Galt and married Jerry Trafton, a former college classmate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  He works for a trenching company in West Sacramento; she is a GIS analyst for Sycamore Environmental Consultants in Sacramento.

Brown-Trafton had quiet seasons in 2005 and 2006 but assembled a team that includes Tony Mikla, a Rancho Cordova-based trainer and physical therapist. An accommodating work schedule allows her to train four to five hours a day. She does most of her throwing at Sacramento City College.

“The coaching staff at Sac City has really helped me out,” Brown-Trafton said. “It takes a lot of people, practically an entourage, to be successful.”

But her potential has been obvious for years, going back to her days as a high school basketball and track standout in Arroyo Grande. The 6-foot-4 Brown won the 1998 California state meet with a discus throw of 181-3 to become the sixth-longest performer in prep history.

At Cal Poly. Brown  played basketball for two years and was a four-time All-American in track and field, finishing fourth in the shot put and second in the discus at the 2003 NCAA Championships in Sacramento. She finished fourth in the shot put at the 2004 Olympic Trials but is now exclusively a discus thrower.

Last year, Brown-Trafton threw 201-5 early in the season but finished a disappointing fifth at the U.S. Championships. She rebounded with a victory at the NACAC Championships in San Salvador and finished the season ranked third in the country by Track & Field News.

This year, she threw a lifetime-best 207-8 in early April and improved to 211-0 three weeks later in La Jolla. At the Hartnell Throwers Meet in Salinas, she improved another six feet with her world-leading throw.

“After last year, I prepared to come into this season with a clean slate physically,” said Brown-Trafton, who serves on the athletes committee of the Pacific Association of USA Track & Field. “I’m averaging about 20 feet farther than I have in any other season. I just want to stay consistent through the Olympic Trials.”

Her competition in Eugene includes Aretha Thurmond, Becky Breisch and Suzy Powell-Roos, the U.S. record holder at 222-0. Powell, a Modesto native and two-time Olympian, trains just down the road from Brown-Trafton in Stockton.

“I’m happy for Stephanie and the season she’s having,” Powell-Roos said. “She’s put a lot of years in.

At 28, Brown-Trafton is just entering the peak years for a discus thrower. She hedges her bets a bit when asked how long she intends to compete.

“If I were to medal at the Olympics or break the American record, I’d be likely to compete for a very long time,” she said.

 

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