Eisspeedway

Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's discus throw

Men's discus throw
at the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad
VenueStade de France, Paris, France
Date
  • 5 August 2024 (qualification)
    7 August 2024 (final)
Winning distance70.00 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Rojé Stona  Jamaica
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Mykolas Alekna  Lithuania
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Matthew Denny  Australia
← 2020
2028 →

The men's discus throw at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in Paris, France, on 5 and 7 August 2024.

Summary

At 21 years old, Mykolas Alekna set a new hammer throw world record with a distance of 74.35 m (243 ft 11 in) during a competition in Ramona, Oklahoma. His performance included three throws exceeding 72 meters and all six surpassing 70 meters, making it one of the most consistent series in the sport’s history. This achievement put him in contention to surpass the Olympic Record of 69.89 meters, set in 2004 by his father, Virgilijus Alekna.

In recent years, Mykolas Alekna had earned silver and bronze medals at the World Championships. The competition featured several prominent athletes, including Daniel Ståhl, the defending champion and 2023 Gold Medalist; Lukas Weißhaidinger, the returning bronze medalist; Kristjan Čeh, the 2022 World Champion and 2023 silver medalist; and Andrius Gudžius, the 2022 bronze medalist. Alex Rose, ranked second on the world list for the season and the eleventh-best performer in history, also competed,[1][2] while Ståhl and Čeh shared the fifth-best performance in history.

In the final, Kristjan Čeh, the second thrower in the order, recorded 67.27 meters. Matt Denny followed with 66.89 meters, and Andrius Gudžius threw 66.45 meters. Alekna then took the lead with his first throw. In the second round, Alekna improved with a throw of 68.42 meters but was overtaken by Denny, who threw 69.31 meters. Alekna regained the lead by breaking his father’s Olympic Record with a throw of 69.97 meters, surpassing the previous mark by eight centimeters.

Rojé Stona was the only competitor among the leaders to improve in the third round, throwing 66.16 meters to move into seventh place and secure three additional attempts. In the fourth round, Stona threw 70.00 meters (229 feet 7 inches), surpassing Alekna’s mark by three centimeters and becoming the first athlete to reach the 70-meter mark in a windless, enclosed stadium. Despite Alekna making three more attempts to reclaim the lead, Stona’s throw remained unmatched, securing his victory.[3]

Background

The men's discus throw has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the inaugural edition in 1896. This was the 30th time that the event was contested at the Summer Olympics.

Records

Prior Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world, Olympic, and area records are as follows.

Global records before the 2024 Summer Olympics
Record Athlete (Nation) Distance (m) Location Date
World record  Mykolas Alekna (LIT) 74.35[4] Ramona, United States 14 April 2024
Olympic record  Virgilijus Alekna (LIT) 69.89 Athens, Greece 23 August 2004
World leading  Mykolas Alekna (LIT) 74.35[5] Ramona, United States 14 April 2024
Area records before the 2024 Summer Olympics[6]
Area Record Athlete (Nation) Distance (m)
Africa (records)  Frantz Kruger (RSA) 70.32
Asia (records)  Ehsan Hadadi (IRI) 69.32
Europe (records)  Mykolas Alekna (LIT) 74.35 WR
North, Central America

and Caribbean (records)

 Ben Plucknett (USA) 71.32
Oceania (records)  Alex Rose (SAM) 71.48
South America (records)  Mauricio Ortega (COL) 70.29

Olympic Record broken

Virgilijus Alekna's 20-year Olympic record of 69.89 meters, set in Athens 2004, was broken twice at in the finals — first by his son Mykolas with a throw of 69.97 meters, and then by Rojé Stona with a throw of 70.00 meters.[7]


Record Athlete (Nation) Distance (m) Attempt
Olympic Record  Mykolas Alekna (LIT) 69.97 2
Olympic record  Rojé Stona (JAM) 70.00 4


Qualification

For the men's discus throw event, the qualification period was between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024. 32 athletes were able to qualify for the event, with a maximum of three athletes per nation, by throwing the entry standard of 67.20 m or further or by their World Athletics Ranking for this event.[8][9]

Results

Qualification

The qualification was held on 5 August, starting at 10:10 (UTC+2) for Group A and 11:35 (UTC+2) for Group B in the morning. 32 athletes qualified for the first round by qualification time or world ranking.[10]

Rank Group Athlete Nation 1 2 3 Distance Notes
1 A Mykolas Alekna  Lithuania x 67.47 67.47 Q
2 A Matthew Denny  Australia 64.27 66.83 66.83 Q
3 A Lukas Weißhaidinger  Austria 66.72 66.72 Q
4 B Clemens Prüfer  Germany 66.36 66.36 Q
5 A Traves Smikle  Jamaica 59.18 65.91 65.91 q
6 B Rojé Stona  Jamaica x 65.32 63.30 65.32 q
7 A Ralford Mullings  Jamaica 65.18 x x 65.18 q
8 A Daniel Ståhl  Sweden 65.16 63.36 63.98 65.16 q
9 B Kristjan Čeh  Slovenia x 64.80 64.56 64.80 q
10 B Andrius Gudžius  Lithuania 60.83 64.07 64.07 q
11 B Alin Firfirică  Romania 61.98 x 63.66 63.66 q
12 B Alex Rose  Samoa 62.88 x 60.94 62.88 q
13 B Connor Bell  New Zealand 59.76 62.88 x 62.88
14 A Sam Mattis  United States 62.66 x x 62.66
15 B Philip Milanov  Belgium 60.28 x 62.44 62.44
16 A Martin Marković  Croatia 61.22 62.31 61.62 62.31
17 A Andrew Evans  United States 60.15 x 62.25 62.25
18 A Mauricio Ortega  Colombia x 61.65 61.97 61.97
19 A Lolassonn Djouhan  France 61.93 61.72 x 61.93
20 A Nicholas Percy  Great Britain 59.87 61.81 58.89 61.81
21 B Miká Sosna  Germany x x 61.81 61.81
22 B Joseph Brown  United States x 61.68 x 61.68
23 A Francois Prinsloo  South Africa 51.64 61.35 x 61.35
24 B Lawrence Okoye  Great Britain 61.17 60.40 x 61.17
25 B Juan José Caicedo  Ecuador 60.99 60.44 x 60.99
26 A Mario Díaz  Cuba 60.05 60.92 59.63 60.92
27 B Victor Hogan  South Africa x 60.11 60.78 60.78
28 A Martynas Alekna  Lithuania 58.34 57.53 58.66 58.66
29 B Tom Reux  France x 56.88 58.22 58.22
A Henrik Janssen  Germany x x x NM
B Oussama Khennoussi  Algeria x x x NM
B Claudio Romero  Chile x x x NM

[11]

Final

The final was held on 7 August, starting at 20:25 (UTC+2) in the evening.[10]

All three medalists posted some of the longest throws in Olympic history, surpassing Virgilijus Alekna's 69.89 meters (Athens 2004) and 69.3 meters (Sydney 2000), and Lars Riedel's 69.4 meters (Atlanta 1996).[12]


Rank Athlete Nation 1 2 3 4 5 6 Distance Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Rojé Stona  Jamaica 61.66 65.20 66.16 70.00 x x 70.00 OR, PB
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Mykolas Alekna  Lithuania 68.55 69.97 x 68.88 68.49 x 69.97
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Matthew Denny  Australia 66.89 69.31 68.39 x 69.15 66.44 69.31
4 Kristjan Čeh  Slovenia 67.27 68.41 x 66.36 66.34 x 68.41
5 Lukas Weißhaidinger  Austria 60.02 67.54 64.52 x 64.43 x 67.54
6 Clemens Prüfer  Germany 65.79 65.58 65.58 67.41 x x 67.41
7 Daniel Ståhl  Sweden 64.97 66.95 64.06 66.00 x x 66.95
8 Andrius Gudžius  Lithuania 66.45 65.02 x x x 66.55 66.55
9 Ralford Mullings  Jamaica 65.61 x x Did not advance 65.61
10 Traves Smikle  Jamaica 63.77 64.11 64.97 Did not advance 64.97
11 Alin Firfirică  Romania 64.45 63.00 62.84 Did not advance 64.45
12 Alex Rose  Samoa 60.07 61.89 x Did not advance 61.89

[13]

References

  1. ^ "Men's Discus Throw - Final extended start list" (PDF). Olympics. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Discus Throw - men - senior - all - 2024".
  3. ^ "Men's Discus Throw - Final results" (PDF). Olympics. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  4. ^ "All time Top lists – Senior – Discus throw men", World Athletics, 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Season Top Lists – Senior 2024 – Discus throw men", World Athletics, 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Records – Discus throw men". World Athletics. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  7. ^ McCarvel, Nick (2024-08-07). "Paris 2024 Athletics Men's Discus Throw: All Results as Roje Stona Wins the Gold Medal".
  8. ^ Sean McAlister, "How to qualify for athletics at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained", Olympics.com, 20 December 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Road To | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  10. ^ a b "Paris 2024 - Olympic Schedule - Athletics", Olympics.com. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Men's Discus Throw - Qualification results" (PDF). Olympics. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  12. ^ "History of Olympic Results: Discus Throw – Men". Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  13. ^ "Men's Discus Throw - Final results" (PDF). Olympics. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.