Athletics: Team Bea seeks A standard

"You just get out there if you're big and fat and throw a plate, that's it, eh?"

That's a taste of the criticism Beatrice Faumuina has faced regarding her chosen sport of discus as she trains for a possible sixth world track and field championships.

However, contrary to this comment offered on radio, Faumuina is a picture of health and is working hard towards the goal of winning selection to the world championships in Berlin in August.

Team Faumuina is made up of Ross Dallow, the former police commander and now Waitakere councillor. He's known Beatrice since she was an emerging athletic talent in her teens. Dallow's son Matthew, a two-time winter Olympian and conditioning coach of the Highlanders rugby side, is the technical analyst and Jim Brownlie's the chiropractor.

The team recognises it's a tough year ahead if the 1997 world champion is to revive her career.

Being outside the 'development athlete' bracket, Faumuina has been initially overlooked for the nine-strong New Zealand team to contest the world championships.

With a throw of 60.03m, she won a 16th New Zealand title at the recent national championships, just two short of the legendary Val Young.

However, that distance is 1.97m short of the A qualifying standard she requires to go to Berlin.

For Ross Dallow, fitness, power, speed and technique are the campaign watchwords.

"In the past, discus throwers had to be super strong, spending a lot of time in the gym lifting weights.

"Today, throwing is based on ballistic power, obtained through exercises leading towards a faster rather than a bulkier muscle."

The theories are sound but Faumuina has to go through the pain of putting them into action as part of 16 training sessions a week, with the odd day off thrown in for mercy.

"Trusts Stadium in Waitakere has six flights of stairs on the outside, with 11 steps between each bracket. I know those stairs well now. After my first set of reps when Matt got me to go up three flights, I just about died.

"It's not just walking up - there's lateral movement, lunges and jumps. When I first started, I was quiet, then I got a bit annoyed but I understand the benefits long-term and now I'm bounding up with weights.

"The fact I can put my body through that and recover the next day to go through two more hours' training is fantastic. I'm definitely fitter."

That's why her diet, scheduled down to the last kilojoule by Matthew Dallow, has also been important.

"I'm taking protein every three to four hours. In the past, I would have had it but not on a regular basis. There are also no carbohydrates past 6pm. Diet's been a huge part of recovery and gaining strength levels."

It's all in the name of Berlin with a vague eye on Delhi for next year's Commonwealth Games. While the main track and field season is yet to fully get going in the Northern Hemisphere, Faumuina has the 14th best throw this year, with only five women beating the A qualifying mark to date.

But that won't sway convenor of selectors Graham O'Brien to make an exception.

"What we are looking for is consistency of performance and a competitive record," says O'Brien. "We know that Beatrice has a competitive record over a long period. Beatrice is aware of what we are asking. She has reacted well so far and we think she can still do it. We'll be delighted to have to think about it harder."

At 34, some might consider longevity an issue for Faumuina but discus consistently produces athletes with a long shelf life. The late American Al Oerter won two of his four Olympic titles at an older age than Faumuina and German Franka Dietzsch did likewise with two of her three world championships, the last in 2007 at 39.

Dallow says it comes down to mechanics. "Discus does not knock you round like shot put or hammer, where you're lifting tremendous weights which rip you apart on occasions. It's more of a fluid movement. When people say Beatrice is getting too old, they don't know the statistics, they don't know the event."

Another concern, much like sprinting, is that head and tailwinds can significantly affect the discus in flight. Dallow is concerned the selectors' consistency of performance policy doesn't take into account consistency of conditions, especially, he argues, with no one on the panel having a strong throwing background.

"We haven't had the ideal wind in two seasons. This is where I have a problem with the selection standards. They just put down a figure and say 'this is what you must throw'."

In the meantime, it's a matter of chasing a tailwind.

At this stage, there are two dates ringed on the Faumuina calendar where she'll get a chance to do that - May 30 at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York and June 7 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. Final selections are made for the world championship team on July 27.

Faumuina's never competed in New York so is unfamiliar with what she'll strike but Eugene should provide reasonable throwing conditions because the cage is based in the middle of the field, with the option of adjusting it to best suit the breeze.

However, getting yourself prepared for the events is one thing, actually getting there is another. Fortunately the event sponsors are personal sponsors of Faumuina, so have stumped up the flight money.

Contrary to some misconceptions, Faumuina predominantly funds herself now the immediate post world championship winning years have passed.

It's the classic athlete's Catch 22: performing well internationally means suitable funding and time to prepare. Slip from the top and it's inversely proportional.

"I know a lot of people probably think I'm still getting funding through Sparc but I haven't received funding directly from them since 2006. I work for the television programme Tagata Pasifika but it doesn't totally cover athlete expenses.

"I'm now in a situation where I have to examine the flipside. I'll miss work, income and classwork ahead of my final Bachelor of Business Studies exam on June 17.

"I don't want to be in a situation where I have to be away for long periods any more. It all weighs up, especially the way the dollar is now."

So, with a last intense month of training in progress, it's a case of two last spins of the disc for Faumuina to see if she can don the black singlet again.