Mykolas Alekna shattered his discus world record by more than a meter at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze event held in Ramona. On Sunday, Alekna achieved an impressive throw of 75.56 meters.
This event was particularly significant for Alekna, as it was the same venue where he set his first world record of 74.35 meters last year. During the competition, he twice improved upon that mark. Initially, he set a new record with a throw of 74.89 meters on his first attempt, and later, he surpassed that with a 75.56-meter throw in the fourth round.
Mykolas Alekna faced strong competition as Australia’s Matt Denny also made headlines by surpassing Alekna’s previous record with a throw of 74.78 meters. Denny had earlier thrown 74.25 meters in Ramona on Thursday.
The competition was notable for its depth, with five athletes clearing the 70-meter mark and seven exceeding 69 meters. The USA’s Sam Mattis improved his performance to 71.27 meters, securing third place, while Germany’s Clemens Prufer threw 71.01 meters to finish fourth. Great Britain’s Lawrence Okoye came in fifth with a throw of 70.76 meters.
Mykolas Alekna achieved a historic milestone as his 74.35-meter throw last year broke the longest-standing men’s world record, which had been set by Jurgen Schult in 1986. Now, at just 22 years old, Alekna has become the first athlete to surpass the 75-meter mark.
The Alekna family boasts two of the top four men’s discus throwers in history. Mykolas’s father, Virgilijus Alekna, a two-time Olympic champion, holds the fourth spot on the all-time list with a throw of 73.88 meters from 2000.
Alekna’s record-breaking performance came a day after Valarie Allman set a North American record with a throw of 73.52 meters in Ramona, marking the farthest women’s discus throw globally since 1989.
The Oklahoma Throws Series has proven to be an important platform for athletes to push beyond their limits and set new records.
