On Sunday at the Oklahoma Throw Series in Ramona, Mykolas Alekna, a junior at California-Berkeley, set a new world record in the discus with a throw of 74.35m. This broke the previous record set by Jurgen Schult in 1986. Alekna, who hails from Lithuania, previously won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Budapest and started the competition with a 72.21m throw before achieving his record-breaking throw on his fifth attempt.
Initially, Alekna’s throw was recorded at 74.41m but was later adjusted with a steel tape measurement. Alekna had set the collegiate discus record of 71.00m a year prior, and three of his throws on Sunday surpassed that mark. Alekna comes from a family with a strong throwing background, as his father, two-time Olympic champion Virgilijus Alekna, previously held the second spot on the all-time list before his son pushed him down to third place.
Just the day before Alekna’s record-breaking throw, Cuba’s Yaime Perez achieved the longest discus throw since 1989 at the same competition. Perez, the 2019 World champion, threw 73.09m on Saturday. Fans of track and field can follow the latest coverage on FloTrack, which offers in-depth broadcast schedules throughout the summer, including coverage of college track events. Join the conversation on FloTrack Social to stay engaged with the latest news and updates in the track and field world.
