Winning Gold on Job

David Stephens didn’t make it past the qualifying rounds in the javelin competition at the Olympics last week, but he is in first place in his job as sales manager of the Mid-Atlantic region for Pinnacle Micro Inc.

Stephens is the top sales manager for the Irvine-based company, which makes optical disk drives, said Jennifer Blanchfield, director of marketing at Pinnacle Micro.

“Great athletes don’t like to lose,” she said. “Dave definitely is that kind of person. He’s a go-getter.”

Stephens, 34, also was a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic team, earning a spot as champion of the Olympic trials that year. He was an alternate for the 1992 Olympic team.

Greg Miller covers high technology for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at greg.miller@latimes.com