In accomplishing her task of winning a spot at the London Olympic Games at last weeks U.S. Trials for track and field, Stephanie Brown Trafton took an uncertain situation and molded it into the fulfillment of a personal dream.

She was nervous about the performance, she said on June 26, but in both the qualifying and final rounds, she worked past her feelings to end up with her best throw of each round on her last throw for that round.

This was the hardest meet of my life as an elite level athlete, Brown Trafton said of the Trials. I had some trepidation going in because the conditions were wet and slippery and I had performed poorly at a meet in the same place a few weeks earlier.

Brown Trafton not only won the U.S. Olympic Trials, but her performance was a 180 in a meet at which she had competed on the very same field just over three weeks earlier.

At the Prefontaine Meet, also held at Hayward Field on June 1, Brown Trafton struggled so much that she failed to put up a mark in each of her attempts.

This time, her throws landed farther as each round passed in the qualifying round, earning her a spot in the finals.

I was very relieved to make it to the final round and felt like my confidence was back, Brown Trafton said.

In the finals on June 24, her first throw was the farthest among the field of competitors. Her marks over the next two rounds dwindled, and she fouled in the fourth and fifth rounds.

Her final throw, however, easily surpassed all others at 21310.

Besides reaching her third Olympics, this trip has extra meaning for Brown Trafton.

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Brown Trafton achieves personal dream at trials