Who is Mykolas Alekna – the 38-year-old Lithuanian world record-breaking discus thrower – Firstpost
Discus thrower Mykolas Alekna has broken the oldest men’s track and field world record.
Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna broke the oldest men’s athletics world record on Sunday, completing a stunning discus throw of 74.35 meters, breaking the previous record almost 38 years old.
The record came at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational in Ramona, Oklahoma. The low-key event is dedicated to field throwing events.
On her fifth attempt – after 72.21 m, 70.32 m, 72.89 m and 70.51 m, Alekna performed a gigantic throw that broke the previous record of 74.08 meters, set by the German from the East Jurgen Schult on June 6, 1986.
WORLD RECORD 👀
Mykolas Alekna of 🇱🇹 breaks the oldest male world record* with a monster discus throw of 74.35m in Ramona.
Jürgen Schult’s record lasted almost 38 years 🤯
*subject to the usual ratification procedures pic.twitter.com/ZtHqgRNtOU
– World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) April 14, 2024
Until Sunday, the men’s track and field world record set by Schult in 1986 was the oldest, eclipsing the previous record of 25 years and 79 days held by Jesse Owens in the long jump.
Who is Mykolas Alekna?
Alekna, 21, was a silver medalist at the 2022 World Championships and a bronze medalist at last year’s World Championships in Budapest.
He is the son of former two-time Olympic discus champion Virgilijus Alekna, who won gold in the event at the 2000 and 2004 Games. His older brother, Martynas Alekna, is also a discus thrower.
Alekna became the U-20 World gold medalist in 2021, recording a championship record throw of 69.81m, and the U-20 European champion with a throw of 68.00m. Additionally, he holds the second and third best U-20 discus throw records in the world.
At the World Athletics Championships, he won a silver medal in 2022 (69.27 m) and a bronze medal last year (68.85 m). In the 2022 edition, he made history as the youngest medalist in the discus throw.
He is also the reigning European champion, having landed a championship record of 69.78m in Munich in 2022.
In April 2023, the Lithuanian became the youngest athlete in the history of the sport to break the 70m mark, with a personal best at the time of 71.00m.
He also won the Men’s Rising Star Award at the Golden Tracks Award ceremony in October 2022 in Estonia.
