ATHENS, Greece - American Casey Malone was in no rush to leave Olympic Stadium on Monday night after finishing seventh in the final of the men's discus throw.
``You work your whole life to get here. I wanted to sit in that chair, take it all in, soak in that crowd and that energy,'' said Malone, a Fort Collins, Colo., resident.
Malone, a four-time All-American and 1998 NCAA champion in the discus at Colorado State, lingered as long as he could in the stadium that seems to take its architectural inspiration from a combination of a spaceship and some ancient craft floating out of the pages of ``The Odyssey.''
He had just witnessed an epic battle of the titans of his sport.
In round one, Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania, the reigning Olympic champion, snagged an Olympic record of 229 feet, 3 1/2 inches.
In round two, the eventual gold medal winner, Robert Fazekas of Hungary, claimed the Olympic record for himself with a throw of 232-8 1/2.
Alekna came away from the 2004 games with silver, and Zoltan Kovago of Hungary took bronze (219-11 1/2).
Malone had to be content with a 211-0 1/2 on his fourth throw, good enough for seventh place in the 12-man final.
``It wasn't spectacular, but I'm pleased,'' he said. ``I'm pleased with my series as well. It's not like I had one big throw. The way I felt out there is most important. I felt like I could make adjustments through the meet and got better toward the end.''
Malone is an assistant coach at the University of Colorado, where he works with both men and women throwers.
He indicated that he's looking ahead to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
``I'm 27, and the prime years of your throwing career are probably 30 to 36,'' he said. ``I was probably one of the younger guys out there tonight (Monday). So I feel like this was a learning experience, a building experience. I hope I can continue and go to the next Olympics and maybe the next. It's definitely whetted my appetite.''
