Another Medal For Alekna – California Golden Bears Athletics

Mykolas Alekna will enter his junior year at Cal with two world medals under his belt.

T&F8/21/2023 2:27 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Cal Star Claims Bronze At World Championships

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – One year after becoming the youngest world discus medalist in history, California track & field’s Mykolas Alekna braved an especially warm evening at the National Athletics Centre to put on yet another show at the highest level of competition. Competing against one of the top discus fields ever produced, Alekna claimed bronze for his native Lithuania and became just the second Golden Bear ever to medal twice at the World Athletics Championships – and the first to do so while still competing on the collegiate circuit.
 
The gold medal went to Daniel Ståhl of Sweden, who threw a championships-record 71.46m (234-5), while Slovenia’s Kristjan Čeh earned silver at 70.02m (229-8).
 
Alekna, the reigning European U23 champion, started off with a throw of 65.23m (214-0), followed by a mark of 67.08m (220-1) that kept him in second place after three rounds. After being surpassed by both Ståhl and Australia’s Matthew Denny to start off the fourth cycle of throws, the 20-year-old rising junior unleashed a heave of 68.85m (225-10), to muscle his way back into third place, which he never relinquished. Both of his final two throws came in just behind at 68.07m (223-4) to cap off a remarkably consistent series.
 
The final two placements were not decided until the final throw of the competition. Following Alekna’s last throw, Čeh leapfrogged Ståhl for the lead as the penultimate man in the circle, looking as if he had successfully defended his 2022 world title; however, a stone-faced Ståhl then launched his record throw to clinch the win for the first time since 2019, dropping to one knee in celebration as he avenged last year’s fourth-place finish.
 
Full recap to follow…
 
World Athletics Championships – Men’s Discus Final

1. Daniel Ståhl (Sweden) – 71.46m (234-5 – Championships Record)
2. Kristjan Čeh (Slovenia) – 70.02m (229-8)
3. Mykolas Alekna (Lithuania) – 68.86m (225-10)
4. Matthew Denny (Australia) – 68.24m (223-10 – National Record)
5. Fredrick Dacres (Jamaica) – 66.72m (218-10)
6. Andrius Gudžius (Lithuania) – 66.16m (217-0)
7. Lukas…