NSW’s great Dani Stevens retires

24 October 2021

NSW’s great Dani Stevens retires

NSW’s finest athlete of the last decade, Dani Stevens (nee Samuels) has retired after an illustrious 18-year international career. The 2009 World discus champion is alongside Jana Pittman as the best NSW athletes in over 50 years.

Stevens, who has batted injury since she won gold on home soil at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, felt it was time to close her career.

“I’ve gotten to the point where I am really content and happy with everything that I’ve achieved in my athletics career and feel that now is the right time to step away,” Stevens told Athletics Australia.

Dani Stevens has pretty much achieved it all in athletics. One of a rare few to have won youth, junior and senior world titles, she has also stood on the top of the dais multiple times at the Commonwealth Games and World University Games title. Her name is throughout the record books including Commonwealth, Oceania, Australian and Commonwealth Games.

Stevens started her journey in Little Athletics, aged six in the ‘tiny tots’ but she was a very talented athlete and went to Westfields Sports High for basketball, however the athletics staff and coaches kept her involved in track and field. In year 10 she was selected for the World Youth Championships and she then switched her focus to athletics, however she would continue to play club basketball into her seniors years.

She initially trained with Hayden Knowles, but later moved to Hayden’s dad Denis when Hayden became busier at Parramatta Rugby League team. Denis, who to this day continues to coach Stevens, would become a key figure in her life especially when her father Mark died in a bicycle accident when she was in her teens.

After a rocky start to her international career, placing 25th out of 27 athletes in the shot at the 2003 World Youth, she has gone on to become the most successful discus throwers in the Commonwealth. At just 17, she won a medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. She made her Olympic debut in Beijing in 2008 – the youngest member of the athletics team. The next year, she was on top of the world – winning the gold in the discus at the IAAF 2009 World Championships – the youngest ever winner of the event (she retains the honour today).

Stevens withdrew from competition at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games before finishing 10th at the 2011 World Championships. She competed in her second Olympic Games in London 2012 where she threw 63.97m in the qualification round and finished 12th in the final with a throw of 60.40m. Winning gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, she placed 10th and 6th at the 2013 and 2015 world championships respectively.

Stevens made her third Olympic appearance at the Rio 2016 Games where she secured her best ever result. She threw 64.90m on her final attempt to claim fourth as Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic won gold with a throw of 69.21m.

She made a breakthrough at the 2017 World Championships in London where she placed second, but with an extortionary performance of 69.64m. It was a 1.65m personal best and would have won the last 12 world championships and five Olympic Games and was the third longest throw in the world for 16 years. At the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games she defended her crown winning by eight metres. Injured in 2018 and 2019, in her first throw back, in December 2019, she achieved the Tokyo 2020 qualifying standard.

But just prior to COVID postponing events, including the Tokyo Olympics, in February 2020, Stevens required urgent spinal surgery after an accident in the gym. She wrote: “I axed myself doing a lift. It took about a week to realise the full damage that I had done as the nerve pathway that runs down the front of my right arm (C5) had completely shut down due to compression. My C4/5 disc (neck) had popped out and shattered in two. One part pushing on my spinal cord and the other pushing on the nerve root. I was told they couldn't be sure whether I would get full function back or not, let alone throw discus again.”

It took a good 10-11 months for the nerve to "wake up" and kind of feel normal for Stevens. She gradually resumed training in late 2020 and decided to take her first throw in competition for 16 months at the Sydney Track Classic in March 2021. She warmup throwing over the Olympics standard of 65m, but settled for the win with a throw of 63.36m.

After the competition she was thrilled to be back competing.

“It’s been really hard and really frustrating, but I’m out the other-side now. It feels like that time was a bad dream, but it was so worth taking the time to do it properly and recover with normal function back, then to comeback and throw just short of Olympic qualifying is pretty good when I think about it.”

Her 2021 campaign looked promising with three throws over 62 metres. At the Olympic in Tokyo, she was managed 58.77m to place 14th in her qualifying pool, missing a place in the final.

Dani Stevens joined rare company as a four-time Olympian when she competed in Tokyo, 13 years after her Olympic debut in Beijing. Dani captained the Australian Athletics Team alongside Steve Solomon, but the 2009 World Champion had had to overcome significant challenges en route to her fourth Games.

What do you like best about competing?

The adrenaline, the challenge and the chance to throw it a long way. Its my happy place, as soon as I pick up the discus ready to throw it, something comes over me.

Who has been the most influential person in your career and why?

My coach Denis Knowles, he is a legend. He pushes me and demands a high-level execution and 100 per cent effort. He has been the sports psych, taxi driver, nutritionist, throwing coach and drink bottle getter. He convinced me that I could be the best in the world someday.

Biggest challenge you have faced?

I've struggled with some injuries over the past few years which have sidelined me for a decent amount of time.

What are some fun facts about you?

Younger sister Jamie Samuels played basketball for Sydney University Flames and Canberra Capitals in the Women's National Basketball League. Both represented Australia.

What was your first junior athletics club?

Holroyd and Greystanes Little Athletics Centres.

What are your hobbies outside of competition?

Basketball, watersport and history.

Who is your biggest Inspiration?

Steve Hooker pole vault gold in Beijing 2008

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW