AP/Lang
8/22/23
Discus throw is a game of centimeters. So when American and University of Iowa alum Laulauga Tausaga-Collins launched a throw that beat her personal best by more than four meters (13 feet) at world championships on Tuesday to win the title, she stunned the crowd and herself.
The Hawkeye alum took gold in Budapest with a fifth-round throw of 69.49 meters (228 feet), a performance that made her the first American woman to win a discus world title. It also vaulted her past her teammate and world leader Valarie Allman, who took silver in an improvement on her bronze medal from last year’s worlds. Tausaga-Collins dedicated the gold medal — of which she said she was “very, very proud” — to her mom, who pushed her into sports.
Discus was not Tausaga-Collins’ first track and field event. The Hawaii native started throwing shot put in high school, which was her ticket to college. At Iowa, she started throwing the discus, which was her ticket to Budapest and the gold medal.
As a Hawkeye, Tausaga-Collins was a 2019 NCAA Discus champion, an 8-time NCAA Division 1 All-American, a 6-time Big Ten Conference champion, and a 12-time All-Big Ten Conference scorer.