Personal information | |
---|---|
Nationality | Lithuanian |
Born | Vilnius, Lithuania | 28 September 2002
Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4+1⁄2 in) |
Sport | |
Country | Lithuania |
Sport | Athletics |
Event | Discus throw |
College team | California Golden Bears |
Achievements and titles | |
Personal bests | 74.35 m (243 ft 11 in) (Oklahoma, 2024) WR |
Medal record |
Mykolas Alekna (born 28 September 2002) [1] is a Lithuanian athlete who specializes in the discus throw. He is the current world record holder of the event with 74.35 metres (243 ft 11 in). [2] [3] At the age of 19, he won the silver medal at the 2022 World Championships, becoming the youngest world discus medallist in history. Alekna was then the youngest ever winner in his discipline at the 2022 European Championships, setting the competition record in the process. [4] [5]
In 2021, he was the World Under-20 and European U20 champion. [6] [7] [8]
Mykolas is the son of double Olympic discus throw champion Virgilijus Alekna. [9] His brother Martynas Alekna is also a discus thrower.
In June 2022, 19-year-old Mykolas Alekna threw his new personal best of 69.81 m while finishing second at the Stockholm Diamond League meet, the longest ever discus throw by a teenager. At the 2022 World Championships held in Eugene, Oregon in July, he lost only to Kristjan Čeh, becoming the youngest world discus medallist in history. [4] Less than a month later at the European Championships Munich 2022, Alekna became the first teenager to win a medal in the discus throw, let alone the gold, beating Čeh and all three medallists from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. His father had won this title 16 years earlier. [10] [5]
On 29 April 2023 at The Big Meet in Berkeley, California, Alekna became the youngest discus thrower in history to throw beyond 70 metres, moving up to 18th on the world all-time list with his new best of 71.00 m, a new European U23 record. [11] [12]
On the second day of the 2024 Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational [13] in Ramona, Oklahoma on 14 April, Alekna set a new world record (pending ratification) of 74.35 m, surpassing Jürgen Schult's previous record of 74.08 m. This record had stood since 1986, making it the longest-standing world record in men's athletics. [14] Under near-perfect conditions, Alekna surpassed the mark of 70 m with all six of his attempts (throwing 72.21, 70.32, 72.89, 70.51, 74.35 and 70.50 m), [15] [16] each of which stood among the 100 best discus throws of all time. [17]
In the Paris 2024 Olympics, Alekna secured the silver medal with a throw of 69.97 metres on his second attempt, surpassing his father Virgiljus's Olympic record that had stood since Athens 2004. However, the record was broken by gold medalist Rojé Stona minutes later, who threw his personal best and set a new olympic record at 70.0 metres. [18]
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | European Youth Summer Olympic Festival | Baku, Azerbaijan | 9th | Discus throw (1.5 kg) | 54.13 m |
2021 | European U20 Championships | Tallinn, Estonia | 1st | Discus throw (1.75 kg) | 68.00 m |
World U20 Championships | Nairobi, Kenya | 1st | Discus throw (1.75 kg) | 69.81 m | |
2022 | World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 2nd | Discus throw | 69.27 m |
European Championships | Munich, Germany | 1st | Discus throw | 69.78 m CR | |
2023 | European U23 Championships | Espoo, Finland | 1st | Discus throw | 68.34 m CR |
World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 3rd | Discus throw | 68.85 m | |
2024 | European Championships | Rome, Italy | 3rd | Discus throw | 67.48 m |
Olympic Games | Paris, France | 2nd | Discus throw | 69.97 m |
The discus throw, also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight — called a discus — in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by the fifth-century-BC Myron statue Discobolus. Although not part of the current pentathlon, it was one of the events of the ancient Greek pentathlon, which can be dated back to at least 708 BC, and it is part of the modern decathlon.
The men's discus throw competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held at the Olympic Stadium on 21–23 August. It was originally planned to hold the discus throw at the Ancient Olympia Stadium, but it was discovered that the field was not large enough to accommodate the range of modern discus throwers, and would have posed a danger to spectators. As such, it was decided to move the discus throw and to hold the shot put at the ancient stadium, despite the fact that the shot put was not contested at the Ancient Olympic Games. Thirty-nine athletes from 26 nations competed.
Virgilijus Alekna is a Lithuanian former discus thrower and politician. He won medals at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics, including two golds.
Gerd Kanter is a retired Estonian discus thrower. He was the 2007 World Champion in the event and won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and bronze in London 2012. His personal best throw of 73.38 m is the Estonian record and the fourth best mark of all time.
Jürgen Schult is a German former track and field athlete and, from 1986 until 2024, the world record holder in the discus throw. Schult represented East Germany in the 1988 Olympic discus competition, where he won the gold medal.
The men's discus throw event at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday, 24 September and Monday, 25 September. Forty-five athletes from 28 nations competed. The event was won by Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania, the nation's second victory in the men's discus throw. Lars Riedel of Germany took silver, becoming the 13th man to win multiple discus throw medals. Frantz Kruger earned South Africa's first medal in the event with his bronze.
Sandra Elkasević is a Croatian discus thrower. She is a two-time Olympic and world champion and a record seven-time European champion which makes her the most decorated female discus thrower in history. She is also a seven-time Diamond League winner, prevailing in 46 circuit's meetings.
The discus throw is one of four track and field throwing events held at the Summer Olympics. The men's discus throw has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. The women's event was first contested at the 1928 Olympics, being one of the five athletics events in the inaugural Olympic women's programme.
Ryan Crouser is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus. He specializes in the shot put, in which he is the only three-time Olympic gold medalist, having won in Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Paris, and also a two-time World Champion. He holds the world record in the shot put, both indoors and outdoors. He set the outdoor world record at 23.56 meters in May 2023, improving upon his previous record of 23.37 m from July 2021. He has held the indoor record of 22.82 m since January 2021.
Matthew Denny is an Australian athlete specialising in the discus throw. He won the bronze medal in the men's discus throw at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Connor Bell is a New Zealand field athlete. He represented his country at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and is a four-time national champion in the discus throw.
The men's discus throw at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on 19 and 21 August 2023.
Marius Karges is a German discus thrower. In 2022, he became World under-20 Champion in the discus throw.
Rojé Stona is a Jamaican track and field athlete who competes in the discus throw. He broke the Olympic record to win the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, thus becoming the first Jamaican to be Olympic Champion at a throwing event.
Martynas Alekna is a Lithuanian discus thrower.
The men's discus throw at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in Paris, France, on 5 and 7 August 2024.