Lithuania's Mykolas Alekna broke the world record for longest men's discus throw by throwing 74.35 meters* at the Oklahoma Throw Series competition in Ramona on Sunday (14th).
The throw broke the world record of 74.08 meters set by Jürgen Schult in 1986, 16 years before Alekna was born, and was part of a series of six 70-meter throws by the 21-year-old. Ta.
Competing on a weekend with perfect conditions for a discus thrower, Alekna showed she was serious from the start, opening with a 72.21m. Although he surpassed his personal record of 71.39 meters on April 6, which moved him to 10th place in the world all-time, he still seemed frustrated.
The two-time world medalist clocked 70.32m in strong winds, but seemed much happier with his third-round challenge. His record was 72.89 meters, which further strengthened his position as fourth all-time.
Despite that great performance, Alekna kept her cool and threw 70.51 meters in the fourth round, but the best was yet to come.
Returning to the throwing circle for the fifth time, he fired the tool and pointed at it as it flew through the air. Landing at 74.35 meters (originally measured at 74.41 meters but later revised), Alekna made history by finishing the series with 70.50 meters from her final attempt.
The Alekna family currently has two of the three greatest male discus throwers of all time. Two-time Olympic champion Virgil Alekna (Mykolas' father) ranked third on the world's all-time list with 73.88 meters in 2000.
Mikolas Alekna's performance came a day after Cuba's Yaime Perez achieved the world's longest women's discus throw since 1989 with a throw of 73.09 meters in Ramona.
*Subject to normal ratification procedures