Paul Aiken / Staff Photographer)
Standing in a darkened, near-empty Balch Fieldhouse Tuesday afternoon, Casey Malone pulled a well-worn discus from its blue storage bag. He caressed it gently, as a musician would a treasured instrument.
The steel discus nestled comfortably in his large hand, while his fingers brushed over its curves. Quietly, almost to himself, he read off the numbers written on the discus, this one from a U.S. championship, that one from a world championship.
Throwing the discus has taken Malone, the University of Colorado throws coach for the past 16 years, a long way, from a gold medal at the 1996 junior world championship to the 1998 NCAA title, to two Olympic Games, a world championship, and many top European track meets.