Thu, Aug 24, 2017 page3

• Taipei Universiade: For some, discus throwing has fringe benefits

  NOT PLAYING: Valarie Allman, who got into the sport after being promised spaghetti, said she hoped to employ product design to the benefit of disadvantaged communities

  • By Christie Chen / CNA, with staff writer
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  Sometimes all it takes is a bowl of spaghetti for a top athlete to be born.

  That is definitely the case for Valarie Allman, a 22-year-old US discus thrower from Longmont, Colorado, whose craving for spaghetti helped introduce her to the sport.

  “It’s a weird and crazy story,” the Stanford University student, who is competing in the Taipei Summer Universiade, told reporters in an interview on Sunday.

  

  The US’ Valerie Allman yesterday competes during the women’s discus qualification at the Taipei Summer Universiade.

  Photo: Chang Ying-ying, AP

  In middle school and early high school, Allman was into dancing. She did ballet and jazz, “but my love was hip-hop dancing,” she said.

  During her high-school freshman year, she was selected by choreographers on the US TV show So You Think You Can Dance to join the traveling dance workshop The Pulse on Tour.

  On weekdays, she would go to school, while travelling to different cities with the program on weekends, Allman said.

  At the same time, she wanted to be involved in school activities to feel like part of the school community, so she joined her high school’s track and field team, Allman said.

  “I started jumping and running, and I was OK at best,” she said. “And then, one day, the [discus] throwers were getting ready to have their annual spaghetti dinner and they said that anybody who came and practiced that day could come to the dinner,” Allman said.

  “And I love spaghetti. Love spaghetti. It’s one of my favorite foods. So I went and tried it and just kind of found that I had a weird knack for throwing discus,” she said with a laugh.

  Of course, she said, she also went to the dinner that night and “even loved it more.”

  “Then after that I was like: ‘yeah, I want to keep trying this.’ It turned into one of my biggest passions,” Allman said.

  After delving into the sport, she said, she realized that she carried over many things from dance to discus throwing, such as coordination and balance, which are important in both disciplines.

  Allman finished third in the women’s discus throw at the US Track and Field Championships in June, giving her a spot on the US national team at this month’s International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in London, although she did not make the final 12 in the event.

  Allman won the silver medal at the 2014 World Junior Championships and last year finished sixth in the women’s discus throw at the US Olympic Trials.

  As for her goal at the Universiade, Allman, who also competed in the 2015 Gwangju Universiade, said the event is a great opportunity to make friends and learn about different cultures.

  “I think the goal is just to be able to learn about the Taiwanese culture and become immersed in the environment, as well as help bring out the competitive spirit of the Games,” she said.

  “I always love when as an athlete you can bring out the best in people,” she said.

  Of course, she also hopes to take home a medal.

  “I think it’s hard wired inside me to want to be competitive, so I’ll definitely be trying to be on the podium,” she said.

  Allman took a step in that direction yesterday when she qualified for today’s women’s discus final with a throw of 58.33m, the best throw of the qualifying round.

  Allman, who studies product design at Stanford and is passionate about non-profit work, said that after her athletic career comes to an end, she would like to work for a big tech company or start a social entrepreneurship business that is focused on helping communities.

  “Doing non-profit social work has always been something that’s been taking a big piece of my heart,” Allman said.

  She said she hopes to use her expertise in product design to improve the non-profit sector and design goods for low-income communities.

  However, for the time being, Allman is focused on throwing the discus, even if the fringe benefits are not what they were in the past.

  Asked if she still has annual spaghetti dinners these days, she laughed and said not anymore, but “I make sure to eat it before the meets.”
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