SAINT-DENIS, France − Team USA women's discus thrower Veronica Fraley let it fly in the right frame of mind Friday, but it didn't fly quite far enough. Fraley's best throw among three went 62.54 meters (205.2 feet), leaving her ranked 13th in qualifying, one spot short of a 12-team field for medal finals at the Paris Games' Stade de France venue.
As recently as a couple days ago, she wasn't sure the right frame of mind would even be possible.
The Vanderbilt student, who will graduate later this month with her second masters degree, made news via social media Thursday with some honesty about her personal finances that proved to stir the right people. She took to her X account to reveal that Vanderbilt had only assisted with 75% of her rent, and rapper Flavor Flav and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian came to the immediate rescue with a pledge to get Fraley's shortfall covered. As it turned out, they not only covered her rent for the month, they picked up the tab for the remainder of the year.
Fraley expressed thankfulness for the support, but without unpaid rent weighing on her, she still came up slightly short. Things looked promising after her first and best throw, but she didn't improve on the 62.54 on her two subsequent throws. Meanwhile, the remaining competitors in Group B slowly pushed her out of contention. Entering the third and final throws for Group B competitors, Fraley was holding onto the 12th and final qualifying spot until Portugal's Irina Rodrigues posted a 62.90 to knock her out of the top 12 with Fraley's final throw still pending. She needed to finish with a 62.64 to climb back into the qualifying field, but recorded a 60.95 to bring her first Olympic experience to an end.
She declined to speak to reporters following the disappointing finish.
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The standard for automatic qualification was 64.0 meters. Medal finals of the women's discus throw will be held Aug. 5.
Fraley, 24, recorded top-20 finishes in the discus throw at the World Championships in 2022 and 2023. Earlier this year, she won the 2024 NCAA Championship in discus with a throw of 63.66.
Fraley wasn't the only Team USA women's discus thrower competing Friday; Valarie Allman, competing in Group A, wasted no time qualifying with a robust throw of 69.59 on her first attempt. With a No. 1 world ranking, it was no surprise. Her lone throw of the day was the best of anyone, and one of only six in either group to break the 64-meter mark for automatic qualification to the finals. Allman won gold in the discus at the Tokyo Games in 2021 with a throw of 68.98 meters. Team USA's Jayden Ulrich failed to qualify.
Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at [email protected]. Follow on X @chasegoodbread.