Mykolas Alekna showed up in Poland and made the Silesia Diamond League look like his personal runway.
The world-record holder rolled through a loaded discus field Sunday, producing the four best throws of the competition and leaving no doubt about the result in Chorzow. His winning mark came in the fifth round: 238 feet, 1 inch (72.58 meters). That blew past the meet record of 225-1 (68.60) held by Germany’s Robert Harting for 13 years and also topped Alekna’s own Diamond League standard of 235-3 (71.70) from a year ago.
The performance was even more striking because Alekna wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place. He suffered a complete tear of his left pectoral tendon while training in March, and by June he was back in the ring.
Ten days before this meet, he took his only loss of the season when Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh beat him at the European Championships. In Silesia, Alekna flipped that script and beat Ceh by 12 feet.
“I feel amazing,” Alekna told the pool reporter for World Athletics. “I turned the frustration from the European Championships into motivation.
I just tried to move as fast as I can, I did not do any major changes. I always try to throw the same in any conditions.
“I am happy that I bounced back after the European Championships, I am happy with this result. The competition was really competitive with Kristjan Ceh.
“The people were cheering, it was probably the best crowd in the world. Silesia for me is magical, amazing and loud.
This is my first time in Silesia and I would love to come back. It is so close to home and I saw many fans with the Lithuanian flag.”
The rest of the men’s discus field never caught him. Sweden’s Daniel Stahl, the 2021 Tokyo Olympic champion and three-time world champion, finished third at 223-11 (68.25).
Jamaica’s Roje Stona, the 2024 Paris Olympic champion, was sixth at 221-11 (67.65). Australia’s Matthew Denny, listed as the 2026 world leader and No. 2 all-time, came in eighth at 217-9 (66.38).
The Cal connection in Poland didn’t stop with Alekna. Fellow Golden Bear Camryn Rogers owned the women’s hammer throw, landing the five best throws of the day on her way to a win at 252-11 (77.09). She beat American DeAnna Price, the 2019 world champion, by more than six feet.
“I am really happy. This season has been amazing, I have had the best throw of my life. And to close the season with this throw is wonderful,” Rogers said.
Rogers, the Paris Olympic champion and a two-time world champ, said her season is already finished in August, even though Alekna will still head to the Diamond League final Sept. 4 and 5 in Brussels. The women’s hammer won’t be on that program.
“It is incredible that my season is already over in August. I will go home to Richmond in Canada, have a staycation and relax and then start to get ready in Texas for the next three years with world champs and Olympics.
“I am always so excited to come here because I know how passionate and supportive they are about hammer throw.”
Rogers’ season included a lifetime best of 266-3 (81.13) in April, a throw that put her No. 2 on the all-time world list. She wrapped things up with 10 victories in 12 meets across seven countries.
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