Cal Poly's first Olympic gold medalist, Stephanie Brown Trafton earned a gold medal in the women's discus at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Brown Trafton, an Arroyo Grande High School and Cal Poly graduate, won the Olympic title with a best mark of 212 feet, 5 inches. She reached that mark on her first throw and the rest of the 12-person field couldn't catch her.

Brown Trafton received the 2008 Jesse Owens Award as female track and field athlete of the year in the United States. She won the discus title in the 2009 USA National Championships.

Brown Trafton, who graduated from Cal Poly in 2004 with a degree in industrial engineering, also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, placing 11th in the first of two groups in the prelims and 22nd overall with a mark of 192-1.

Brown Trafton was a seven-time Big West champion -- four in the shot put and three in the discus -- and three times earned NCAA All-America honors in outdoor track and field, placing seventh in the shot put in 2001, fourth in the discus in 2002 and fourth in the shot put in 2003. She also earned three All-America certificates in indoor track and still holds Cal Poly records of 57-0 in the shot put and 189-7 in the discus. She was named Cal Poly’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2003.

Brown Trafton is a three-time state high school champion who also played basketball at Arroyo Grande High School and Cal Poly before an injury ended her hoops career. She currently is director of operations for the Sacramento State track and field teams.