Athletics: Faumuina kills off ghosts of Sydney with discus seventh

By KEVIN NORQUAY

ATHENS - Discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina staved off the ghosts of Sydney 2000 when she finished seventh in the Olympic Games discus final in Athens.

It was the highest place Faumuina has finished in three Olympics, and in line with her world ranking going into the event, so she was pleased.

What made her even happier was getting it together after her first round throw, a wild no throw that recalled her horror evening in the Sydney final.

In Sydney, Faumuina's touch completely deserted her and she finished last in the 12-strong final, without managing to break 60 metres.

In Athens, the city in which she won her world title in 1997, the New Zealand flagbearer gathered herself to deliver a second round 62.45m. That lifted her to fifth and sealed her place among those chasing the medals when the field was culled from 12 to eight after three rounds.

Faumuina, seventh when the field was cut to eight, remained in that place for the duration, unable to find the one big effort to put her in medal contention.

A fourth round 63.45m was her best throw, with three no throws not helping her cause.

Natalya Sadova won the event with a fifth round throw of 67.02m, easing past crowd favourite Anastasia Kelesidou of Greece (66.68m), and world champion Irina Yatchenko, who threw 66.17m when facing an early exit.

"One of the things I said at the beginning of the year was that I have got to beat what I did in Sydney," Faumuina said.

"I had to get the horrible memory of Sydney out of my mind. For once I didn't come out crying, thank God."

Her first throw was "a little unsettling, but I came back from it ... it could have been all over then".

For once discus was centre stage as the Greek crowd urged on countrywomen Kelesidou, Ekaterini Voggoli and Stiliani Tsikouna with chants of "Hellas, Hellas, Hellas" ("Greece, Greece, Greece").

Faumuina, 29, loved that.

"That rocked in my world ... it is very rare that all the focus happens to be on the event I'm in," she said.

Athens was "by far" the best Olympic Games she had been to, she said.

Faumuina will now prepare for the next world championships, expressing frustration that it was so hard for her to get top class competition without travelling to Europe.

"I'm the only Kiwi, the only one in Oceania, it's a little bit tough," she said.

"They can all go and compete among themselves -- there are three Greeks, there's three top Germans and three top Russians."

Melina Hamilton was eliminated from the pole vault, when she could clear only 4.15m.

Hamilton cleared 4.00m (correct) and 4.15m on her first attempts. Her New Zealand record is 4.40m, which would have qualified her for the final.

- NZPA