Discus: One huge throw for a medal

By EUGENE BINGHAM

Just one moment of perfection, timing and explosiveness is all Beatrice Faumuina needs.

She may not be a medal favourite in Wednesday night's discus final, but she knows from experience that results in big competitions do not always follow form.

"The fact is there are at least eight women with a chance of finishing anywhere eighth to first," Faumuina's coach, Les Mills said. He counts his charge among them.

The 1997 world champion has already out-performed any other Kiwi track and field athlete so far by making the top-12 final. Now she will be desperate to come up with one effort that will put her in the top three. "It's got to be absolutely precise," Mills said.

The 25-year-old Aucklander's final build-up to the six-round throw-off began soon after Monday's qualifying competition.

She sat down with Mills to watch video footage which revealed minor technical flaws in her three qualifying efforts.

"She'll be doing a lot of imagery and focus on the movement to make sure she gets it right."

On Wednesday she will do some light stretching, have a massage, and relax with her mother.

"She feels fine and she will just approach it the way she does other competitions. It really is a competition similar to a world championship or Commonwealth Games.

"She is well practised in that sort of competition. Beatrice is a good competitor and you can just hope that she is right on the night."

Monday's qualifying round threw up some surprise results with several big names crashing out but the final is stacked with talent.

This year's world No 1, Romania's Nicoleta Grasu, failed to make the cut. The current world champion, Franka Dietzsch of Germany, scraped in by a centimetre.

Three Greeks, including the world championship runner-up Anastasia Kelesidou, and Australia's on-form Lisa-Marie Vizaniari, will also be in the final. Irina Yatchenko, of Belarus, will be seeking to at least match her hammer