Valarie Allman once again asserted her dominance over the field in the women’s discus, setting a new meet record Friday evening at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Rome, Italy, with a throw of 69.21 meters.
Finishing at the top of the podium at a Diamond League meeting has become routine for Allman. She has now won gold at 16 Diamond League meets over the past four years. She has also won the Diamond League Final each year dating back to 2021.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist will be looking to add the one medal missing from her extensive collection this September in Tokyo—World Championship gold. She has already won a silver medal in 2023 and a bronze medal in 2022.
Going into the competition, Allman already set the longest throw in the world in 36 years when she tossed 73.52 meters at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational on April 12. This throw currently ranks 6th of all time, and within striking distance of the world record of 76.80 meters set by the East German Gabriele Reinsch in 1988.
Allman would throw 63.01 meters in the first round in Rome before scratching her next two attempts and improving her mark to 66.66 meters in round four. Her 69.21-meter throw would come in round five, breaking the previous meeting record of 68.93 meters set by Sandra Perkovic in 2018.
On her performance, Allman said, “It feels good being here. I am trying to hold my technique, and I am glad I figured it out over the competition. I was so excited to be here in Rome.”
Only 29 women have ever broken the 70-meter barrier, and only six women have broken this mark over the past ten years. Five of them were in the field this Friday in Rome.
Second place would go to Cuba’s Yaimé Pérez with a throw of 66.63 meters. Pérez threw 73.09 meters last April to put her in 11th place of all time. She’s also the former World Champion from 2019 and is arguably Allman’s biggest challenger come September. Allman and Pérez are the only two women to break the 73-meter barrier in the past 30 years.
Third place went to Jorinde van Klinken of the Netherlands, who threw a best of 65.77 meters in round five. van Klinken will be looking to make the podium at the World Championships this year after finishing fourth at the past two championships. She’s four years removed from her personal best of 70.22 meters but has been consistently throwing in the high 60 meters.
Other women expected to be in the mix for gold at the World Championships include China’s Bin Feng, who is the World Champion from 2022, Croatia’s Sandra Elkasević (neé: Perković), the two-time Olympic and World Champion, and Laulauga Tausaga, who’s the defending World Champion. All three of these women were also present at the Golden Gala.
Feng also set a season’s best this weekend in Rome with a throw of 64.19 meters. She’ll be looking to continue inching toward the 69.12 meters that captured her gold at the World Championships in 2022.
Elkasević’s best throw of 64.91 meters wouldn’t be enough to break her season best of 65.03 meters from late May. She has thrown over 68 meters in three of the past four seasons.
Tausaga set a personal best this season of 70.72 meters at the same competition in April where Allman broke 73 meters. However, she couldn’t match this form at the Golden Gala, throwing 62.68 meters.
The next Diamond League meeting that includes the women’s discus will be the Meeting De Paris in a little under two weeks. Start lists have not yet been posted.
The World Championships will be held from September 13 to 21 in Tokyo, Japan. It’s shaping up to be a highly competitive field, with Allman the overwhelming favorite.
