Monday, July 1, 1996Technique, not size, launched Powell into
No. 1 positionBy Rick Banks
Summer Bruin Contributor
Standing a slim 5 feet, 10 1Ž2 inches, Suzy Powell is not
your average thrower. It’s not her size that allows her to hurl the
discus consistently in the 190-foot range, but her technique.
"I think I’m a very efficient thrower," Powell said, "because I
don’t weigh as much as most other throwers."
Technique allowed Powell to come back from consecutive defeats
in the Pacific-10 and NCAA championships to post a personal record
en route to winning the 1996 Olympic Trials. The throw, 198-9,
lifted the UCLA sophomore into the Olympic Games as the No. 1
representative of the U.S. Track and Field Team.
By heaving her way into the Olympics, Powell overcame the
disappointing upsets at the hands of athletes who, according to
UCLA assistant coach Art Venegas, posted "career-type throws."
"I thought if I came out and had a good day, I’d be able to
qualify. I don’t think I was sure I would be in this position when
I was in high school," said Powell.
Even if Powell didn’t think she could have been in this position
back then, her numbers tell a different story. Upon her graduation
from Thomas Downey High School in Modesto, Powell had captured
every national prep record in the discus, setting the national mark
in 1994 at 188-4.
Under the skilled eye of Venegas, UCLA’s throwing coach for the
last 15 years and coach of 13 NCAA title winners, Powell honed her
talent. She spent her entire freshman season in the shadow of Bruin
great and eventual 1995 NCAA discus champion Dawn Dumble.
"I don’t think there are many places you can be and train with
world champions and the top three or four in the nation," said
Powell of training at UCLA.
Venegas labeled Powell "the kind of recruit that you always
dream about," but he almost didn’t get the chance to work with her.
Powell’s decision to come to UCLA was nearly undone by an
invitation to Stanford. In the end, she chose to become a part of
one of the most well-respected and successful throwing programs in
the country.
This Olympian has come into her own and is listed among the top
five discus throwers in the United States. She proceeded to bolster
that standing by winning the Trials.
"This year I made some dramatic improvements in a lot of
different areas, and my marks went up," she said. "It sort of
turned me around and made me a better thrower."
Those improvements allowed Powell to turn things around and put
up her own career-best numbers, leading her to an eventual win.
The changes she has made to improve her already impressive
technique and ability will continue to be tested as this gold-medal
hopeful competes for the United States in this summer’s centennial
Olympic Games.
… (Powell) is listed among the top five discus throwers in the
United States.