Stevens enters world titles in medal shape
DANI Stevens heads into the world championships in good enough shape to contest for a medal as she gears up for the competition she says will be the highlight of her career.
Stevens became the youngest discus world champion in history when she won the title in 2009 aged 21, and after throwing a full series over 60m in her final warm-up meet on the Gold Coast last month, heads to London in “PB shape”.
Returning to the world championship dais almost a decade after she was last there would mean plenty to Stevens, who admits she has ridden the peaks and troughs during a long career.
“I’m feeling really good and training’s been going really well, so I’m just really excited for (London),” Stevens said after her final competition at the Down Under meet on the Gold Coast last month.
“All the planning and all the training is about being in PB shape going into London.
“You have your ups and downs, I think a lot of athletes have their highs and lows.
“But I think at the moment I’m quite on a high with motivation and how much I want it and how hungry I am to get that gold medal again. I truly believe I’m in good enough shape to be able to contest that at world championships.
“You’ve got to put yourself in the mix and do the best you can so that you give yourself a shot on the day. There’s about six or seven girls that could win it on the day and you’ve just got to go in there, trust your ability and smack it.”
Stevens finished a gutting fourth in the Rio final last year, missing a maiden Olympic medal by just 44cm. She heads into London ranked fourth in the world.
But as much as the world championships means, Stevens said her greatest triumph would be winning gold at next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
“Winning in a home Games would be amazing. I remember 2006 in Melbourne, I came third and I felt like I’d won,” she said.