A YEAR ago Dani Samuels was just another unsung competitor at Melbourne’s Zatopek Classic track meet.

This year, the 21-year-old’s decision to throw the discus at Olympic Park was deemed worthy of a press release. The youngest ever women’s discus world champion is a big drawcard in track and field these days.
Tonight, Samuels will have her first competitive outing after a post-Berlin extended break and eight weeks of solid training. With a field that hardly mirrors the international star power of the line-up she beat in Germany four months ago, you …

AFTER a slight pause when asked to reveal to whom she dedicated her world champion’s gold medal, Dani Samuels cleared her throat and simply said ”my dad”.

Samuels, aged 21, but an infant in the ancient sport, joined Jana Pittman, Cathy Freeman, Nathan Deakes, Dmitri Markov and Rob de Castella as Australians to have triumphed at the world championships. She had a dream realised in Berlin - but there was one sad wish.
”I wish he was here to see this because I know how proud Dad would have been,” she told …