Olympic gold medalist Valarie Allman broke her American record on Friday with the world’s best discus throw in 30 years.
Allman, 27, launched a 71.46-meter throw at a meet in San Diego, bettering her previous national record by nearly a foot.
It’s the world’s best throw since 1992, moving Allman to the No. 15 thrower in history, past the likes of 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic of Croatia.
The top 50 throws in history were all recorded in the 1980s, many dubious marks from East Germans.
Allman now has 10 of the top 11 marks on the U.S. all-time list, all coming in the last two years.
Last year, Allman won the Olympic title on her first of six throws in the final, distancing the field by 2.12 meters for the U.S.’ first track and field gold on the fourth day of competition in the sport.
The former Stanford All-American was formerly a competitive dancer. Her ballet, jazz, hip-hop, tap and contemporary training aided her discus motion.
NBC Olympic research contributed to this report.
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