Cal Junior Mykolas Alekna Crushes 38-Year-Old World Record in the Discus

Mykolas Alekna broke the oldest world record in a men’s Olympic event when he crushed the previous standard in the discus by nearly a foot on Sunday at the Oklahoma Throws Series meet at Ramona, Okla.

The 21-year-old Lithuanian — a junior at Cal who is redshirting this season to prepare for the Paris Olympics — threw 243 feet, 11 inches (74.35 meters) to eclipse the 38-year-old world record of 243-0 (74.08) set by East Germany’s Jurgen Schult in 1986 — 16 years before Alekna was born.

“It was an amazing throw, really good conditions, a great crowd,” Alekna said in a phone interview Sunday evening. “I was just enjoying the competition and one throw was really good and I managed to set a new world record, so I’m really happy.”

Mo Saatara, Cal’s throws coach, was succinct in his reaction to the record.

“One word — wow!” he said.

Here is the record-breaking throw:

“I’ve known that he can achieve some amazing performances . . . obviously, he’s supremely talented with technical expertise at the highest level possible,” Saatara added. “So I’m not surprised, but when you do something like that to break the legendary record of Jurgen Schult, one of the greatest throwers of all time . . . about as good as it can get.”

Alekna said he expected the Oklahoma wind to provide a legal boost to the throwers in the competition.

“I knew the conditions were going to be good and I knew I’m capable of throwing that far, but I didn’t put pressure on myself," he said. "I  just enjoyed the moment and it happened.”

All six of Alekna’s throws won the competition and three of them exceeded his personal best of 234-2 (71.39 meters), set two weeks ago at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley.

Although his mark will not count as a Cal record because he is competing unattached this season (preserving a year of eligibility), Alekna became the first Golden Bear to set a world record in a men’s individual event since Eddie Hart ran 9.90 seconds in the 100-meter dash in 1972.

He is only the second Cal male field-event athlete to set a world record, the first in 110 years, dating back to Eddie Beeson clearing 6-7 1/4 in the high jump in 1914

Alekna’s fifth throw of the day was originally measured by laser at 244-1 (74.41). But for record purposes, World Athletics required the throw to be re-measured with a steel tape, which gave him a distance two inches shorter.

His mark must be ratified by World Athletics before becoming an official world record.

Alekna not only exceeded the world record the four-time Olympic (and 1988 Seoul gold medalist) Schult set as a 26-year-old, he moved past his father, Lithuanian legend Virgilijus Alekna.

Virgilijus Alekna was a two-time Olympic champion, a two-time World Champion and owned the No. 2 spot on the all-time world list prior to Sunday. He recorded his personal best throw of 242-5 (73.88) as a 28-year-old in 2000.

Alekna said he texted his father but hadn't spoken with him because it was the middle of the night in Lithuania. But he did get a response to his text: “He just said good job. A man of few words, just like me.”

While Mykolas is still a young man and not yet fully mature as a lean 6-foot-5 athlete, his father was 6-7, 287 pounds. “There’s not too many like that who walk the earth,” Saatara said.

Roje Stona, who was runner-up at the NCAA championships for Arkansas last year, finished second Sunday with a best of 226-6 (69.05). Alex Rose, 32, of American Samoa, who threw 70 meters at this competition a year ago, finished fourth at 223-9 (68.20).

Alekna’s full series on Sunday: 236-11 (72.21), 230-8 (70.32), 239-1 (72.89), 231-4 (70.51), 243-11 (74.35) and 231-3 (70.50).

“I’m a very, very firm believer in being able to generate stable results in competition,” Saatara said. “If you get enough looks at it, it’s going to happen.”

Alekna said he wasn't surprised by distance when he released the discus. “I knew it was going to be a good throw," he said. "I expected it to be over 74 because the wind adds a few meters and I know how a good throw feels. I knew it was going to be far.”

Alekna has been a prodigy since arriving on campus prior to the 2021-22 academic year. He set the collegiate record early in his freshman season and owns 11 of the top 12 marks by a collegiate athlete. His current college standard is 232-11 (71.00), set at Berkeley last year.

Curiously, Alekna has come up short in two tries at the NCAA championships, finishing second as a freshman and third in 2023. But he won a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships and then bronze at the 2023 Worlds last year.

He now joins Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh and Sweden’s Daniel Stahl as favorites to capture gold at Paris this summer.