Final throw lands Stevens a silver medal

EIGHT years ago she was a 21year-old rising star named Dani Samuels who stunned the world to win the world title.

At this year’s London world championships she was Dani Stevens, the consistent veteran who produced a career-best throw to claim a silver medal.

Stevens set an Australian record with her final throw in the competition of 69.64m, surpassing Daniela Costian’s record of 68.72m, which had stood since the 1994 Auckland Commonwealth Games.

Her previous best was 67.99m, which she threw in Germany in 2014. Unfortunately for Stevens, who married former shot putter Joe Stevens after the Rio Olympics, where she finished fourth, she was up against one of the greatest throwers in history, Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic.

“I always had faith in my potential and the direction we’ve been heading,” Stevens said. “Coming fourth in Rio last year was a really big motivator. I’ve known we’ve been on the right track.

“It’s just about being able to unleash one in a pressure situation.

“I knew I could and I felt like I was building with each throw.

“The first two were a little bit shaky but that third one that went out of the sector I felt a little bit more rhythm and then came the 66 but I knew that I wasn’t safe.

“That last one I was just able to completely relax and unleash and I saw it had great height and I knew it was in the sector and then it bounced right near the 70m line and I thought, ‘Holy’.

“I was hoping for a 68-plus PB. I just wanted to throw what I knew I could throw and reach my potential because I knew I was in PB shape and I wanted to win a medal for Australia.

“I got the Aussie record and the area record, which I didn’t even know what that was.”

Fittingly, Stevens’ good friend Sally Pearson, who is Australia’s only other medallist at the championships, was in the crowd to celebrate her roommate’s big moment.