Tausaga Wins Discus Gold at Worlds With 4-meter Improvement on Personal Best

Laulauga Tausaga, of the United States, reacts after an attempt in the Women's discus throw final during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Aug. 22, 2023. Matthias Schrader/AP Photo

BUDAPEST, Hungary—Discus throw is a game of centimeters. So when Laulauga Tausaga launched a throw that beat her personal best by more than four meters (13 feet) at the world championships on Tuesday to win the title, she stunned the crowd—and herself.

“I just screamed,” Tausaga said about the throw that made her the first American woman to win a world gold medal in discus. “I was like, I don’t know how to contain this emotion.”