German fans set to inspire Brown Trafton

Olympic discus champion Stephanie Brown Trafton is relishing making her World Athletics Championships debut at Berlin's Olympic Stadium - as most of her fan mail comes from Germany.

The 29-year-old captured gold at Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium last August with her opening throw of 64.74 meters and none of her rivals got within a metre of her first effort.

Now the Californian says knowing she has some fans in the crowd in Berlin will give her a boost as she prepares to make her world championship debut having missed Osaka in 2007 and Helsinki in 2005.

"Walking into the stadium next Wednesday will be intimidating, but the Germans love discus so that will help," she beamed.

"Most of the fanmail I get is from Germany, I know there will be people rooting for the discus throwers.

"Since I will have a target on my back, I know my competitors will be aiming to beat me.

"It would be great to go around the 68 or 66m mark."

One of her main rivals in her first worlds will be local heroine Franka Dietzsch who is defending the pair of world crowns she won in Helsinki and Osaka.

"It's an opportunity to have a repeat (after Beijing), I am new on the scene and I feel I have something to prove," said Brown Trafton with the 41-year-old German Dietzsch likely to retire after Berlin.

"Franka will be on home turf, we have been competing since the 2004 Olympics and it will be awesome to compete with her in front of her home fans.

"I think she is amongst the favourites to win, it's not impossible for her to bust out a good throw.

"I know she is getting to the point where she has to decide where she is going in her career, it's all about producing a great competition.

"It's going to be about who has got more fire in the belly and who has the determination to win."

Brown Trafton has made a habit out of winning events with her first throw and the United States athlete says she is comfortable being the girl to beat.

"At least one of my throws is my best - it's kind of a joke - but my first throw is normally my best," she said.

"I had been trying to get out of that pattern, but if it isn't broke, why fix it?

"It means I throw down the challenge, come on girls, come and get me.

"It may not be good for television if the winner is in the first round, but that's sport.

"But I have a stadium technique, I have long albatross arms and if I get the technique right, the discus is going to go far."