LONDON, England – Stanford discus thrower Valarie Allman is competing at the IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which opened Friday.
Stanford alums competing include reigning Olympic women's pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi '12 of Greece and 400-meter hurdler Kori Carter '14 of the United States.
Allman, 22, will represent the U.S. for the first time in a senior competition, earning her spot by placing third at the U.S. championships in Sacramento on June 22. Allman is a four-time All-America and a two-time Pac-12 champ. She redshirted at Stanford this season to extend her collegiate career. She will be a fifth-year senior in 2018.
Allman will become the first from Stanford to compete on the U.S. team at an Olympics or world championships and return to collegiate competition since triple jumper Erica McLain made the world championships team in 2005 after her freshman year.
Allman has only three throws during the qualification round. Those who reach 63 meters (206 feet, 8 inches) automatically advance. On Sunday, Aug. 13, the top eight after three throws will advance to the final and be granted three additional throws.
Reigning Olympic champ Sandra Perkovic of Croatia has been dominant in recent years and has the year's best throw of 71.41m (234-3). Allman comes in with the world's No. 7 throw (64.69m, 212-3), which she earned while setting the Cobb Track and Angell Field record at the Cardinal Classic. She is the No. 12 American in history.
In the pole vault, Stefanidi should find herself in another battle with Sandi Morris of the U.S. The Olympic gold medal came down to a duel between the two, with Stefanidi winning on fewer misses. Both cleared 15-11 (4.85 meters) on their second attempt and neither succeeded at the next height, of 16-0 3/4 (4.90m), but a Morris miss at 15-5 (4.70m) was the difference. The drama was sustained to the final jump, when Morris barely grazed the bar, causing a delayed fall that resulted in Stefanidi's victory.
Stefanidi became the first Stanford woman to win an Olympic track and field gold medal in an individual event.
Also in the London field is bronze medalist Eliza McCartney of New Zealand and 15-time U.S. champ Jenn Suhr, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist on the same London runway. Stefanidi has the highest jump in the world this year (4.85m, 15-11), followed by Morris (4.84m, 15-10 ½), Suhr (4.83m, 15-10), and McCartney (4.82m, 15-9 ¾).
This meet marks the second world championships appearance for Carter, the 2014 U.S. 400 hurdles champ. She made the 2015 world team, but fell in the semifinals in Beijing and did not finish.
Carter, who won the 2013 NCAA title in a collegiate record 53.21, is peaking. She set her personal best of 52.96 – her fastest since 2013 – at the U.S. championships. The year's top six times in the world all were recorded in that June 25 race, with reigning Olympic champ Dalilah Muhammad leading the way at 52.64.
Update: Katerina Stefanidi took one jump during Friday's qualification and it was enough to advance to advance to Sunday's final. Stefanidi opened at the automatic qualifying height of 4.60 meters (15-1) and made it on her first try. Stefanidi was the only competitor in either group to even attempt that height. She easily won Group B and was the top qualifier overall.
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Stanford Schedule (All times Pacific)
Friday
11:45 a.m.: Women's pole vault qualification – Katerina Stefanidi (Greece).
Sunday
11 a.m.: Women's pole vault final.
Monday
11:30 a.m.: Women's 400 hurdles heats – Kori Carter (U.S.)
Tuesday
12:35 p.m.: Women's 400 hurdles semifinals.
Thursday
1:35 p.m.: Women's 400 hurdles final.
Friday, Aug. 11
2:10 a.m.: Women's discus qualification – Valarie Allman (U.S.)
Sunday, Aug. 13
11:10 a.m.: Women's discus final.
