Discus Champion Valarie Allman Credits dance Background for World Championship Victory
TOKYO - Valarie Allman secured gold in the women’s discus at the 2023 world Athletics Championships in Tokyo,a triumph she attributes,in part,to a foundation built not on the track,but in the dance studio. The 29-year-old American’s winning throw of 69.28 meters underscored her dominance in the event, but Allman revealed the unexpected role ballet and hip-hop played in honing the body awareness and rhythmic precision crucial to her success.
Allman’s journey to becoming a world champion is unique among throwers, a discipline frequently enough associated with raw power. Standing 6ft 1in, she possesses the physical attributes expected of a discus athlete, but credits early dance training for developing a “body-mind connection” that allows her to maximize power and control during her rotations. “I felt like dance did kind of give me a leg up right from the get-go,” Allman said. “There’s so much athleticism in dance that’s not talked about a lot.”
The Olympic gold medalist (Tokyo 2020) explained that dance instilled a sense of rhythm and timing essential to the complex technique of discus throwing. She noted the importance of maintaining this rhythm through frequent throwing during the season, “just to make sure that I’m honed in - there’s this kind of rhythm, timing to the technique, which is easy to lose.”
Allman’s training regimen blends traditional strength and conditioning – including Olympic weightlifting, plyometrics, swimming, and biking – with a focus on maintaining the kinesthetic awareness cultivated through years of dance. She highlighted the accessibility of athletics, noting, “one of the beauties about athletics…is just this very black and white nature to it. That if you pour yoru energy in and you do it for real, it becomes so addictive to continue to chase that.”
Looking ahead, Allman, who will be 33 at the Los Angeles Olympics, has the chance to become the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the discus.But following her World Championship victory,she was focused on a different pursuit: exploring Japanese cuisine,including ramen,sushi,and pork tonkatsu.
