Daniel Lane
The Sun-Herald. April 18^th, 2010

A BIOMECHANICAL anomaly is the reason for world champion discus thrower Dani Samuels's success, according to scientists in Germany.

They have discovered that unlike other throwers who pause as they shift their weight before launching the discus, Samuels accelerates. The study showed she also has the fastest arm. "When you look at Dani she's only 21 and throwing [nearly] 66 metres and you can't help but ask 'Where do you go to from here?'," her coach, Denis Knowles, said. "To the naked eye you see the things that are happening such as she's very quick at the centre of the [throwing] circle and her right foot turns rapidly. But it's from studying data such as the Germans' that you can see why her foot turns so rapidly and why her throwing arm is faster than any female thrower."