GANNETT NEWS SERVICE MULTIMEDIA                                                                    Olympics home | E-mail feedback

August 21, 2004 10:32 am

Malone advances to discus finals

By MIKE PRATER

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - Casey Malone might be in for a raise as an assistant track and field coach at the University of Colorado.

The United States discus thrower added a nice touch to his resume Saturday by becoming the only American to survive qualifying at the Summer Olympics. He ripped off a throw of 207 feet, 6 inches inside Olympic Stadium, and will compete in Monday's 12-man finals as the eighth seed.

Teammates Jarred Rome and Ian Waltz did not qualify for finals after finishing 1-2 at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

``I'm very fired up,'' Malone said. ``Making it to the Olympic Games was a huge goal in itself and my dream was to go onto the finals. Going into the finals seeded eighth is more than a dream come true and to do that with a throw that I did is a great confidence booster.''

Malone, a 2000 Colorado State graduate who lives in Fort Collins, Colo., makes the work commute to Boulder. He said it's difficult to juggle the 40-mile drive, a job and the Olympic training he does in Fort Collins. It all paid off with one magical throw Saturday.

``This is big for me, really big,'' the 1998 NCAA outdoor discus champion said. ``Like I said before, it's really a dream come true.''

Malone's first toss of 196-9 was technically poor, he said. With a blistering sun hitting the grassy infield of Olympic Stadium, he relaxed more on his second heave.

``It's deceptive in the ring, so I couldn't tell how far it went, but it definitely felt good. When I saw the mark, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders,'' Malone said.

His third attempt went 202-10.

U.S. throws coach Criss Somerlot said he was impressed with Malone's effort.

``Casey has refocused this year more than the past couple of years. He has made throwing in the Olympics a priority and the end result was that he came into the Olympics today ready to do a good job,'' Somerlot said.

The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Malone finished third at the U.S. trials and said he liked competing under the radar of Olympic hype and pressure.

``Coming in quietly, it's definitely fun to come up big when maybe the expectations are a little bit lower,'' he said.

Malone said his goal Monday is to maintain his technique. He said that he's not looking for a medal. Each finalist gets three throws, and the top eight advance into a final round with three more throws.

``Obviously a medal would be wonderful, but I won't even be thinking about that,'' he said. ``My goal is good technique. I want to stay with what I'm working on and wherever that gets me, gets me.

``In my mind, obviously, I'd love to stay eighth or higher.''

Somerlot said Malone is capable of medalling in his first Olympics. His personal best would have pushed him into the top three Saturday.

``Casey has thrown 219 feet in less than ideal conditions. It's just a matter of getting the job done and nailing a good throw,'' Somerlot said.

In a competition that features top qualifiers Robert Fazekas of Hungary and Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania, Malone is hoping he can slip under the radar one more time.

``If I could slip under the radar for that one, that would be huge,'' he said.

ADVERTISEMENT