Laulauga Tausaga-Collins is the real deal when it comes to the women’s discus.
She made history in Budapest, as she became the first American woman to win the women’s discus at the world championships. She finished off her remarkable season with a second place finish at the Diamond League Final/Prefontaine Classic back in September.
Tausaga-Collins brings an energy, passion and appreciation that stems from the journeys that she’s had to overcome, especially throughout this past season. She dealt with a case of the gout that sidelined her from training for a period of time. Through her faith and hard work, she overcame that setback and took home the gold medal in the event.
I got the opportunity to catch up with her at the Prefontaine Classic. Here’s a bit of our conversation.
Dom: Tell me about the difficulty of what you do, because the throws don’t get the respect that they deserve. Tell me how difficult it is to throw the discus.
Laulauga: I think a lot of people think that it’s all about strength, but it’s not. It’s about technique. The same way that you would see a ballerina, or you know, someone in gymnastics, like they have to use certain muscles that you couldn’t comprehend. So when you don’t use those muscles, things don’t go well. And, you know, I’ve had so many runners be like, I could do it. Let me let me hold that thing. And it looks absolutely terrible, like, dumpster fire terrible. And so I don’t think people understand that It’s not just about being a bigger person, it’s about using your body and using that strength that you’ve built up and being able to put that in orbit. It’s so hard. Figure skaters, when they go around and they are hitting that turn, it’s fast. They probably have so much energy that they have to keep to stay up before they get washed out. It’s the same thing with us trying to try to throw your body around itself and get back inside. So I think people don’t understand that they just see like, oh, okay, well, you could do things – the technique is such a big part of that.
Dom: Why do you love it so much?
Laulauga: I love it for one big reason and that is definitely for my confidence. I very much enjoy that I can do something amazing with this body type. I think you know a lot of bigger girls, you know, don’t feel like they can be athletic. But the thing is, we are. People can see me and be like, I don’t know what you do, but oh, I do something and you’re going to figure it out. I do something amazing. You don’t have to be super, super tiny to be you know, this or that. Some throwers who are big are some of the most athletic people you will ever meet. We are athletes, and I’m just so happy that I can go home and be like this is the body that was created by God for me to do what I have to do with this gift that I have. And I’m just so proud that I’m able to support that back into my mind through this sport
Dom: You’ve had more successful hits than the Commodores did back in the 70’s. What are you most proud of this season?
Laulauga: The thing that I’m probably the proudest of is just not giving up. Again, I had a terrible beginning to my season. But I stayed the course I was able to to get through the rounds. Most importantly, I’m proud of that (68 feet) that I just had here in the stadium. I don’t know if people realize but I threw from a static. So the backswing i’s kind of like the little flavor, that little zing on top of something that gets things going. And that’s what happened for me in Budapest, I I had a 69 feet with a full throw with a backswing. I just threw a (68 feet) with a static. And so, that’s something that’s just telling me like, oh my goodness, there is something going on. So you know, so it gives me so much excitement. Of course I didn’t win today. But I’m so excited to see what the future holds because of the statics that I’ve had and the success that I’ve already had with them.
Dom: Are you having fun?
Laulauga: Finally, I’m having fun.You start to hate something when it becomes a job, and the beginning of the season was just a job when it wasn’t making enough money. And so you hate it. Now I’m enjoying every opportunity that I can get. I’ve fallen back in love with the sport and I’m just so proud that I was able to get out of that dark age of just going through the motions.
