by Stuart Weir
Danielle Bunch, photo by PhotoRun.net
Stuart Weir wrote this third piece on the Rome DL about the person sitting next to him on the bus to the Golden Gala, Danielle Bunch, who took second in the shot put. We thank Stuart for this fine piece, where we learn about the complexity of changing shot put technique after eleven years and an athlete’s love of horror movies.
How scary Daniella Bunch changed from gliding to spinning.
I confess that I did not know much about Daniella Bunch before she sat next to me on the bus to the stadium. We became quite close on the journey – Daniella’s seat was broken and she kept sliding towards me – almost gliding towards me in fact. My plan for the journey to the stadium was to do my homework and read the excellent biographical notes on athletes that the Diamond League provides.
It certainly helped me to make small talk with Daniella when I read that she had studied Biology at Purdue and enjoyed watching scary movies – more on that later. However, she told me she had graduated in Criminology, having transferred from Biology. She is 26 and is already in her 14th year as a shot putter.
Daniella came second in Rome with a throw of 18.95, beating Olympic Champion, Michelle Carter (18.86) and the Olympic bronze medallist, Anita Marton of Hungary. She also came second in the Shanghai Diamond League last month with 18.98 and threw a PR this year.
She told me her first two years at the elite level had been really hard but 2017 had been good. She felt she was “becoming better known and getting that confidence boost”.
She attributed her 2017 successes partly to a significant change in her training routine: “I kinda ditched the traditional training that shot putters do, working with heavy implements. I just concentrate on the competition shot and really connecting with that. And it’s helped at all my meets this year so far. I lift enough weights so I don’t need to throw heavy too”.
The PR of 19.12 meters came at a meet in Lafayette, Indiana. “It was a very relaxed meet, where I went to college so I was familiar with everything. It just happened that day and I actually had a throw which went further but I fouled it. That was my opening meet so it made me very confident going into the outdoor season. It set me up for the rest of the year”.
Another reason for her improvement this year is that she is now a full-time athlete: “I did work part-time but it was cutting into my training so I am now full-time. I self-funded my training which was very hard but now I hope with my numbers this year I will get more support and not have to worry about the job part for now”.
You also need to know that she is a spinner, not a glider! Pardon? It’s OK she explained it to me: “Gliding is when you sort of shuffle from the back to the front of the circle, a very speed orientated technique. I’m not the fastest person. The spin is where you do a full turn from the back to the front of the ring. For that the technique requires more strength than speed and I’m stronger than I am fast. I started the spin two and a half years ago. So I have only been learning to rotate for two years having spent eleven years as a glider”. Got it now?
Finally, I had to find out more about the scary movies. She told me: “It’s the adrenalin rush I guess. I like action movies and comedies too. But I’m at the point now when I can call out the plot because I’ve seen so many scary movies. I can tell you who the bad guy is an hour before he is revealed. I just love them but I do get scared though!”
I would be happy to share a bus ride with Daniella again any time.
