Aussie discus champion Dani Stevens returns to competition after freak gym accident with Olympics in sight
The delay of the Tokyo Olympics was a blessing in disguise for discus champion Dani Stevens after a freakish spinal injury. Now, she’s back.
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Athletics is all about timing as Dani Stevens knows better than most.
The two-time Commonwealth champion and 2009 world discus champion is one of the few athletes who has benefited from the delay of the Tokyo Olympics.
Stevens, 32, had spinal surgery early last year after injuring her neck in a freak gym accident.
That ended her Tokyo dreams, or so she thought, with the 12-month delay meaning one of Australia‘s most successful athletes will get a chance to compete at her fourth Olympic Games.
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Stevens is making her return to competition on Saturday night at the Sydney Track Classic which will be her second competition in two-and-a-half years.
Her last competition was in November 2019 - where she threw an Olympic qualifier 65.93m - which came after a 14-month injury lay-off which saw her miss the 2019 Doha world championships.
The spotlight will certainly be on the field at the Sydney Olympic Stadium with Australia‘s two leading pole vaulters ramping up their Tokyo preparations on Saturday.
Kurtis Marschall has found his rhythm this year with a number of Olympic qualifying leaps and will have his sights set on raising his two-year-old outdoor personal best of 5.81m.
For Nina Kennedy it‘s her first opportunity to compete outside of Western Australia since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The 23-year-old has been in good form, posting seven Olympic qualifying jumps including a personal best 4.75m in January.
Another highlight will be the women‘s 100m hurdles where one of the form athletes of the summer, Liz Clay, is in action after clocking two Olympic qualifying times in the past two weeks.
DISTANCE STAR TO CHASE WORLD RECORD AT STAWELL GIFT
A new two-mile event featuring Australia’s distance star Stewart McSweyn is set to share top billing at next month’s Stawell Gift.
The AIA Vitality Cup will see McSweyn chase the 3200m world record on the grass at Central Park against a star-studded line-up.
Some of Australia‘s best distance runners will take part in the handicap event which will be shown live on Channel 7 inbetween the women’s and men’s Gift races.
McSweyn has enjoyed an extraordinary 12 months becoming one of the best runners in the world with the King Island product now holding Australian records at 1500m, 3000m and 10,000m.
He will be joined on the start line by a number of his Melbourne Track Club teammates including young gun Matthew Ramsden, Brett Robinson, Ryan Gregson, Jordy Williamsz, Jack Rayner and David McNeill.
While the time honoured 110m Gift has traditionally been the centre of attention at Stawell over the Easter weekend, there have been some memorable performances in the other handicap events.
None more than Cathy Freeman‘s extraordinary victory in the 400m event in 1996 which the Olympic champion rates in her top three career performances.
Organisers are still trying to lock down a drawcard for the Gift with Australia‘s fastest man Rohan Browning a possibility of making the trip down from Sydney.
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Originally published as Aussie discus champion Dani Stevens returns to competition after freak gym accident with Olympics in sight
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