Stevens storms to silver

NSWIS discus thrower Dani Stevens was back to her brilliant best at the IAAF World Championships in London, securing a silver medal in a new Commonwealth and Australian record.

This was the first time Stevens has appeared on a global podium since she became the youngest discus world champion in history in 2009.

Stevens finished behind Croatia’s Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic, and was delighted to be back among the medals. She told The Australian, “I always had faith in my potential and the direction we’ve been heading.

“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.”

Stevens already had the silver medal in the bag when she lined up her monster final throw of 69.64m to smash her previous personal best, and finally claim the Australian record.

“It’s definitely been gettable for a couple of years now,’’ she said.

“The last couple of years I made sure I knew what the centimetres were so I would know if I had broken it or not. It’s almost a two-metre PB to win a silver medal.”