Australian Matthew Denny’s quest to win discus gold at the Paris Olympics just got tougher, with Mykolas Alekna breaking the oldest world record in men’s athletics.
The Lithuanian powerhouse took advantage of windy conditions in the unlikely surroundings of Ramona, Oklahoma, on Monday AEST, to set a new mark of 74.35 metres.
The previous mark of 74.08 meters was set by German Juergen Schult back in 1986.
Alekna’s heroics will come as no surprise to Denny, who predicted such a throw was on the cards after breaking his own national record on Saturday with a throw of 69.35m at the Australian championships in Adelaide.
Having finished fourth at last year’s world championships and the Tokyo Olympics, Denny is a serious medal contender at the Paris Games.
But if he is to secure the top spot on the podium, the Australian will have to find a way to overhaul reigning Olympic and world champion Daniel Stahl of Sweden, as well as Alekna, who at just 21 is six years younger than the Australian.
“I’ve said my goal was to win the Olympics and a lot of people haven’t taken that too seriously,” Denny said after his record-breaking throw on Saturday.
“Which is pretty fair considering I’m fourth in the order right now, fourth in the rankings and I haven’t broken that 70 meter mark.
“Today we didn’t have big winds or anything like that.
“That is a shot that can be replicated (sic) in the Olympic Games and that changes my argument about being competitive and looking for that victory in Paris.”
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AAP