DOWNEY — Hermione flies through the air, landing in the sand with a hard thud. Patty similarly follows soon after. But don’t worry, neither one was hurt; they’re not people.

Hermione and Patty are heavy metal balls - called “shots” - used in the sport of shot put, affectionately named by the young shot putter who just threw them.

Gallatin Elementary School student Paloma DeFord, 9, is still relatively new to the world of shot put, having only started last summer. But don’t let her brief tenure fool you; she’s already making an impact.

In fact, she’s an-All American.

Paloma started competing relatively quickly after learning the basics, however found herself first facing off against high school athletes much older than her. When she finally began competing against those her age, she found quick success.

“At my first medal competition, I won first place,” said Paloma. “It was only the first few meets that I had to compete against high schoolers.”

Paloma has been able to build on that first win. She recently competed at the USA Track & Field Junior Olympics National Championships held at Texas A&M, taking second place out of around 36 athletes her age representing 16 regions across the country.

That makes her second-ranked out of hundreds of other kids nationwide, which came as a little bit of a shock to the athlete.

“I didn’t know I was going to score second place, because there’s also a lot of people out there that might throw harder than me,” said Paloma.

In fact, father Matt DeFord says that the magnitude of Paloma’s accomplishment didn’t set in immediately.

“I don’t think she necessarily understands it yet,” said Matt. “The reason I say that is we were out at the Junior Olympics last week, and she comes out of the competition area…She knows at this point that she’s finished second. She knows that she’s going to get recognized for it in some kind of way.

“We’re all smiles and laughs and stuff, we’re on our way over to the ceremony where they do the podium, and she goes, ‘So, I got second for the state?’ I said, ‘This is the National Championship; you finished second in the entire country.’ And then she goes, ‘Oh my gosh!’ She got so excited.”

Paloma says she enjoys throwing because she can “put out all of her anger into the shotput.” She practices 3-5 times a week, often utilizing the shot put circle and sector at Downey and Warren High Schools. After warming up, she starts with standing throws before gradually working up to the full spins Olympic watchers might be more familiar with.

“You definitely have to do a lot of practice drills,” said Paloma.

But training doesn’t end there. Paloma also does gymnastics and martial arts to help keep her fit.

She’s also fortunate in that shot put is also a family affair. Not only do Matt and mother Sagrario act as Paloma’s coaches, they’re also former athletes themselves; Sagrario even holds a record at UC San Diego that has stood for 20 years.

“It does happen that way. Some of the big throwers are generally coming from family who knows it,” said Sagrario. “Otherwise, you start it kind of later.”

Sagrario says that some of Paloma’s strength lies in her control, aided in part by her involvement with gymnastics.

“I wanted her to do gymnastics for a reason, because it’s really good for learning balance, understanding your body, that quick reflex muscles you need in order to do the type of dynamic movement that you do in shotput,” said Sagrario. “It looks like it’s really easy, but there’s a million things that you’re trying to do when you’re in there.

“What I see is she has really good control of her body, and it’s amazing because I can say, ‘Hey, I noticed this,’ and she will know what she needs to fix in order to adjust that.”

Paloma’s trajectory could potentially lead her into high school, college, and even on into the Olympics, however Matt and Sagrario both agree that that’s not the priority right now. Instead, they’re just focused on Paloma’s self-improvement and personal development, and cultivating her passion for the sport.

“I think the first thing that we want to make sure is just that she loves it; that she loves it, that she has fun, that she makes friends,” said Sagrario.

“I think, in terms of the competitive spirit, I think what we really try to instill in her is ‘You’re only competing against one other person, and that’s yourself,’” said Matt. “From earliest competitions that she’s been in, it’s always been about trying to set a personal record or personal best week after week.

“Where that puts you in relation to others, that’s not entirely within her control always, so we try and focus on the things that are within her control, which is knowing where she’s at, and knowing how to improve on where she is.”

And while Paloma continues on her journey competing and making friends along the way, she has very simple advice for all kids her age, for whatever it is they may be into.

“Just try your best.”

Downey student is All-American shot putter