Lithuanian discus thrower Mykolas Alekna has made history by breaking a world record that had been standing for four decades at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational meeting in Ramona. His throw of 74.35 meters surpassed Jurgen Schult’s record of 74.08m set in 1986. Schult’s record was considered the longest-standing record in track and field according to Olympics.com.
Alekna expressed his disbelief at his achievement, stating, “It’s hard to understand what I just did… I saw the throws and I knew that it could be the day, and it just happened.” Leading up to the event, Alekna had already boasted the longest throw of the season and had moved to 10th on the world all-time list with a previous personal best of 71.39m on April 6. All six of his attempts on Sunday exceeded the 70m mark.
Born in Lithuania on September 28, 2002, Alekna is already one of the leading athletes in his sport. He made the move to train in the US in 2021 and at just 20 years old, became the youngest athlete to throw beyond 70m. Additionally, he is a two-time medalist at the World Championships and the