Mykolas Alekna came to Eugene with a lot to prove and left with another big win.
The former Cal discus star, still only four months removed from a torn pectoral muscle that threatened to derail his 2026 season, beat a loaded field at the 51st annual Prefontaine Classic on Saturday. In just his second meet since returning last month, the Lithuanian world-recordholder uncorked a season-best throw of 233 feet, 2 inches (71.06 meters) to take control of the men’s discus.
That mark was almost 4 feet better than Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh, who placed second with a third-round throw of 229-5 (69.94). Alekna, the silver medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has been on a record-breaking run for a while now. He broke the 38-year-old world record in 2024, then pushed it even farther in 2025 with a throw of 247-10 (75.56).
Saturday’s victory came after Alekna returned to competition on June 16 in Estonia, where he won with a throw of 231-7 (70.60). That meet also included Ceh, the 2022 world champion who has a personal best of 238-2 (72.61) this year, and Jamaica’s Roje Stona, the 2024 Paris Olympic champion.
Stona finished third in Eugene with a throw of 221-2 (67.42). The field was deep, too, with eight athletes over 70 meters, including Swedish veteran Daniel Stahl, the 2021 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist.
Cal had another former star in the spotlight, and this one nearly stole the show.
Camryn Rogers, the reigning Olympic champion and a three-time NCAA winner who also set the collegiate record for the Golden Bears, led the women’s hammer throw through five rounds with an opening effort of 255-3 (77.81). But she fouled on three of her six attempts, and that opened the door for China’s Jiale Zhang.
The 20-year-old delivered a career-best 255-8 (77.94) on her final throw to edge Rogers by 5 inches.
Georgia Hunter Bell, another Cal alum, was in the women’s mile but never got into the mix for the win. The British middle-distance runner finished eighth in 4:18.52, a personal best. Hunter Bell won bronze in the 1,500 at the 2024 Paris Games and took silver in the 800 at the World Championships last year.
American Nikki Hiltz pulled off the upset in that race, running a world-leading 4:17.49 to beat Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon. Kipyegon, the world-recordholder in both the 1,500 and mile, finished third and suffered her first defeat in five years in either middle-distance event.
On Friday night, former Cal standout Rowan Hamilton took sixth in the men’s hammer throw. The 26-year-old Canadian, who won the NCAA title in his lone season at Cal in 2024, threw 248-1 (75.63).
His countryman Ethan Katzberg, the reigning Olympic champion, won the event with a meet-record 273-4 (83.33), the best mark in the world this year.
In Other News...
Cal Offense Still Isn't Getting The ACC Respect Fans Expected
The preseason magazine circuit has not been especially kind to Cals offense, even after a 2025 season that showed the Bears could compete in the ACC and put some real playmakers on the field. Athlon, Lindys and Phil Steele all rolled out their 2026 all-ACC teams this week, and the Bears were left trying to find much of any traction in the voting, despite a roster that includes quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and receivers Ian Strong and Chase Hendricks.
The snub feels like more than a one-off oversight because it reflects how the league still views Cal heading into the new season. A 7-6 finish last year and the relative inexperience of head coach Tosh Lupoi and offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville likely did little to help the Bears preseason profile, and the magazine choices suggest the offense will have to earn respect the hard way once the games start. [Read more 🡒]