Today Was a Good Day
Monday, August 2nd
By James O’Brien
This was a big day for the NYAC, high on expectation. As we know, great things are expected. Valarie Allman was contesting the final of the women’s discus throw in the Olympic Stadium and Adeline Gray was fighting for a gold medal in the 76kg division of the women’s Olympic wrestling competition. Gray was assured of at least a silver medal; but second plce was not what she came to Tokyo for.
Five years ago in Rio, the NYAC woman entered the competition as a three time world champion and the closest thing there was to a prohibitive favorite. The beauty of athletic competition, of course, is that the results are not pre-determined. Gray met defeat in the quarter-finals, ultimately placing seventh, a result that has been a burr through the ensuing years, even as she accumulated two further world titles. Her exuberance yesterday (Sunday) as she defeated Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan to advance to the final was evident. In today’s gold medal bout, she was facing 2014 world champion Aline Rotter Focken of Germany, not only a great adversary but also a great friend. (She was invited to Adeline’s wedding).
While Gray came to Tokyo with a palpable intensity, Allman came into her competition riding the crest of a wave. Having placed seventh in the World Championships in Qatar in 2019, the following year she set a new US record of 70.15m/230’ 2”, and she arrived in this competition ranked number four in the world. So, as I said, expectation, not to mention pressure.
Before we kick off today’s adventures in hardware-mining, however, a little house-keeping is in order. As I write these opening paragraphs, I am positioned in the Tatsumi Water Polo Center, awaiting the start of the men’s game between the USA and Greece. We are still in the group play stage and, thus far, the US men have defeated Japan and South Africa, and lost hard fought games to Hungary and Italy. So, this last clash is significant as it will determine who the US faces in the quarter-finals. The top four in both of the two groups advance; the US – with Alex Bowen, Alex Obert and captain Jesse Smith as the NYAC representatives – is presently in fourth.
To be honest, it would have been a serious upset if the US had prevailed over the Greek titans, and from the outset it was evident which way the tide was turning. At the end of the first quarter, the scoreboard read 4-1 in favor of Greece. As the second quarter drew to an end, the US launched attack after attack and two shots got through; but, at the half, a three goal deficit remained, 6-3. US pressure continued into the second half; but, the Greek barricade was all but impenetrable. At the buzzer, the tally was 14-5, meaning a favorable draw for the Greece in the quarter-finals; less so, for the USA. Stay tuned for details.
From the Tatsumi facility I moved to the Olympic Stadium where things were getting hot (metaphorically; they were already hot literally). Uniquely, two NYAC women were competing on the infield at the same time. Katie Nageotte was negotiating the qualifying rounds of the women’s pole vault (she advanced easily with a 4.55m/14’ 11” clearance) while Valarie Allman was becoming embroiled in a gold medal discus battle that was nothing short of enthralling.
With Allman throwing 11th in the order (there were 12 in the final), the opening attempts were rudimentary until Cuba’s Yaime Perez, throwing 10th, took a lead of almost 3.5 meters with a mark of 65.72m. Allman could have been cowed; but she wasn’t. Her response was a monster 68.92m, moving her into a commanding lead.
As Allman stepped into the circle for her second attempt, however, the rain started to pour. A slick surface and a slippery implement clearly caused her problems, and her attempt flew into the side of the cage. First it poured; then it became a torrent, a distinct problem for throwers and laptop computers. So I moved. Officials mopped the circle, though to little effect and the competition came to a halt. I was fine, thanks.
It was a good 45 minutes or more before competition resumed, a delay that can make a huge difference at this level. Athletes are warmed up, competion ready; then they get cold, and try to do whatever they can to stay loose, mentally as well as physically. But, this stuff isn’t supposed to be easy. As the throwers returned to the fray, it was clear that the delay and the conditions were causing problems. Allman’s third was a foul, falling outside the sector close to the 60m mark; but, still nobody could come close to her opener. And, so it remained. Allman hit 64.76m/212’ 5” on her fourth throw; but there were more fouls than marks in that round. In round five, Kristin Pudenz from Germany launched a personal best of 66.86m/219’ 4” to move into the silver medal position; but that was as close as the attackers came. Pudenz and Perez both fouled their last attempts and the deal was done. Valarie Allman was the Olympic champion, the first NYAC gold medalist of these Tokyo Games.
But, of course, that wasn’t all that we had today. While Allman was securing her gold medal, Adeline Gray was literally fighting for hers. My great regret was that I could not be in both venues to witness both amazing results. I did witness the legendary wrestler yesterday battle through three torrid rounds in order to make today’s final; and there was no question that her competitive intensity would be diminished in any way in this final round, even knowing that she was guaranteed an Olympic medal. Sad to say, the historical record won’t show that; it will only show that Gray lost the match, defeated by a score of 7-3, and received the silver medal.
Rotter Focken scored first to lead 1-0, after Gray was placed on the shot clock and could not score in the required 30 seconds. Late in the period, Gray secured a single leg; but, Rotter Focken was able to counter the move and score two points and take a 3-0 lead into the break. In the second period, Rotter Focken extended her lead with a four-point takedown to lead 7-0. Gray got things rolling later in the period, forcing a stepout for a point, then adding a takedown with 26 seconds remaining to close it to 7-3. Gray was unable to turn Rotter Focken after the takedown, and did not score in the closing seconds with the wrestlers on their feet. Rotter Focken became Germany’s first women’s freestyle Olympic champion and Gray became only the sixth US female wrestler to earn an Olympic medal.
Adeline may be conflicted about the outcome of this bout. Unquestionably, she wanted to win; the greatest competitors cannot countenance defeat. But when the smoke clears and perspective prevails, she, like all others, can only conclude that Adeline Gray’s competitive record demarcates her as, most likely, the greatest of all time. And that’s a thing as precious as gold.
As for Valarie Allman, she now stands in a pantheon with the only other NYAC member to have won Olympic discus gold. Some deem him the greatest track and field Olympian of all time. Valarie Allman should be as happy as the NYAC is proud of her, which is to say enormously.
Today was a good day.