Stephanie Brown Trafton: Historic night in women’s discus

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BEIJING -- With a little help from the sleuths who tracked down some devious Russians, Stephanie Brown Trafton became the first U.S. woman to win the Olympic discus gold since Lillian Copeland in 1932.

Darya Pischalnikova of Russia, who had the world-leading time, was among those Russians banned from the Olympics when international track federation officials found that they had substituted their urine samples to beat doping control.

Brown Trafton, 28, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., finished only third in the Olympic trials, when she had just one fair throw in six attempts.

She made the 2004 Olympics but failed to make the final.

-- Philip Hersh