Daniel Stahl in the discus at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 (© Getty Images)
Leading the highest quality men’s discus major championships podium in history, Daniel Stahl regained the crown he first claimed in Doha four years ago, breaking the championship record in the final round to do so.
Never before had two athletes surpassed 70 metres in the same competition on the global stage. Not only did Stahl and Kristjan Ceh both break that barrier at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 on Monday, but they did it in the final round to cap a thrilling contest at the National Athletics Centre.
Stahl led the competition heading into the final round courtesy of a 69.37m fourth attempt. But in a determined defence of the title he won in Oregon last year, Slovenia’s Ceh sent his discus soaring out to 70.02m, with only one throw of the competition remaining.
Stahl made it count. With a stunning response, the Swedish star shot to the top, his winning mark of 71.46m adding 33cm to the championship record that Ceh set last year.
In that competition in Oregon, Mykolas Alekna became the youngest ever world discus medallist. Now he is a two-time medallist, the Lithuanian 20-year-old’s fourth-round 68.85m bagging him a bronze to go with the silver he secured 13 months ago.
Australia’s Matt Denny also made history as he set a national record of 68.24m to finish fourth – the best ever result for that position at a major championships.
"This was my best performance ever," said Stahl, who achieved his national record of 71.86m in 2019 and has only thrown farther than he did in Budapest on one other occasion. "I had so much focus; I would say 1000% on the last throw after I saw Kristjan throw 70.02m."
Ceh had taken the early lead with his opening 68.31m and he improved to 69.27m with his next throw. A 67.08m second attempt by Alekna moved him into second place and 66.58m by Stahl placed him third.
Jamaica’s Fedrick Dacres then put himself into medal contention in the third round, throwing 66.72m, but that was short lived as Denny and Alekna both improved with their fourth attempts – marks that would end up being their best of the contest. After Denny threw his 68.24m Australian record, Alekna pushed him off the podium with 68.85m.
With the leading quintet unable to improve in the fifth round, they were left to deliver something special in the sixth. As the medallists were confirmed, there was still the gold to fight for. Alekna’s last attempt was 68.07m, matching his mark from the previous round. It was down to Ceh and Stahl to fight for the title.
After 31 clashes, Stahl now leads 17-14 against Ceh; that career tally including an Olympic win for Stahl in Tokyo, as well as his two world title victories.
The 66.72m achieved by Dacres remained enough to place him fifth, one spot above Alekna’s compatriot Andrius Gudzius, the 2017 world champion, who threw 66.16m.
"The competition was so strong," added Stahl. "We have five guys over 70 metres and eight with 68 metres, so you could never have predicted it. It was an amazing final and I'm really proud of the record."
Satisfied with silver, Ceh said: "My expectations were really high. I knew I was physically prepared, even though one month before the World Championships I was struggling with technique. In the end, everything came together and I knew that I had 70 metres in me, which I showed on the last throw.
"I knew I wouldn't win because Daniel is performing really well under pressure."
Jess Whittington for World Athletics
| MEN'S DISCUS MEDALLISTS | ||
| 🥇 | Daniel Stahl 🇸🇪 SWE | 71.46m CR |
| 🥈 | Kristjan Ceh 🇸🇮 SLO | 70.02m |
| 🥉 | Mykolas Alekna 🇱🇹 LTU | 68.85m |
| Full results | ||
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