Gerd Kanter celebrates his Olympic discus victory (© Getty Images)
old Estonian Gerd Kanter, the reigning Olympic and World Champion and also the only thrower to exceed 70 metres this season is the only favourite in the men’s discus competition.
It took the Estonian a few years to find his place though. He reached 70m for the first time in 2005 and entered the Helsinki World championships as one of the favourites. Everything seemed to go well there as Kanter lead the competition until the final round with 68.57m when Virgiljus Alekna (LTU) came and took another title with his last throw of 70.17m. This all seemed to be repeated at the 2006 European Championships where Alekna handed Kanter another narrow loss 68.67m-68.03m.
But Kanter matured and started winning since Osaka 2007 and has clearly been the best discus thrower in the world since. Kanter has a nice 28-meet win streak to bring to Berlin and is naturally unbeaten during 2009. The Estonian’s last loss came in Réthimno, Greece, on 14 July 2008 when Alekna beat him 70.86m-68.73m.
Naturally it is the 37-year-old Lithuanian veteran Alekna who is the best challenger for Kanter in Berlin. Alekna, after two Olympic golds, two World titles and two silvers from World Championships still seems to be hungry for more. Alekna’s season’s best came in Réthimno again where he finished second behind Kanter’s 69.10m winning mark with 68.94m in a tight competition. Alekna is still in great form as he threw 68.44m in Kaunas at the national championships in August.
The Discus Throw is at a particularly high standard at the moment. 65m throws will not be enough for a medal as there are several athletes reaching for 70m this season. Piotr Malachowski (POL), the Olympic silver medallist, has thrown a national record 68.75m this season and will be looking for another medal here. Twenty four-year-old German Robert Harting was second in Osaka 2007 and fourth at the Beijing Olympics last year. Harting hit a season’s best 68.10m in his last competition before Berlin in August and will surely look to win another medal before home crowd.
Frank Casanas (ESP) and Bogdan Pishchalnikov (RUS), fifth and sixth respectively in Beijing, have both thrown well this season too and are ready for Berlin. American Champion Casey Malone has a best of 68.49m which gives him fourth place in the world list but Malone hasn’t reached 65m in a normal stadium competition this season, throwing 64.99m at the US championships.
2004 Olympics silver medallist Zoltan Kovago (HUN) has thrown 67.64m this season and Mario Pestano (ESP) 66.63m. Pestano was ninth in Beijing and 10th in Osaka. Egyptian Omar El-Ghazaly, who was sixth in Osaka 2007 also has come close to his personal best this season with a 66.34m effort. All of these athletes will be looking for a top eight finish in Berlin.
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF
It took the Estonian a few years to find his place though. He reached 70m for the first time in 2005 and entered the Helsinki World championships as one of the favourites. Everything seemed to go well there as Kanter lead the competition until the final round with 68.57m when Virgiljus Alekna (LTU) came and took another title with his last throw of 70.17m. This all seemed to be repeated at the 2006 European Championships where Alekna handed Kanter another narrow loss 68.67m-68.03m.
But Kanter matured and started winning since Osaka 2007 and has clearly been the best discus thrower in the world since. Kanter has a nice 28-meet win streak to bring to Berlin and is naturally unbeaten during 2009. The Estonian’s last loss came in Réthimno, Greece, on 14 July 2008 when Alekna beat him 70.86m-68.73m.
Naturally it is the 37-year-old Lithuanian veteran Alekna who is the best challenger for Kanter in Berlin. Alekna, after two Olympic golds, two World titles and two silvers from World Championships still seems to be hungry for more. Alekna’s season’s best came in Réthimno again where he finished second behind Kanter’s 69.10m winning mark with 68.94m in a tight competition. Alekna is still in great form as he threw 68.44m in Kaunas at the national championships in August.
The Discus Throw is at a particularly high standard at the moment. 65m throws will not be enough for a medal as there are several athletes reaching for 70m this season. Piotr Malachowski (POL), the Olympic silver medallist, has thrown a national record 68.75m this season and will be looking for another medal here. Twenty four-year-old German Robert Harting was second in Osaka 2007 and fourth at the Beijing Olympics last year. Harting hit a season’s best 68.10m in his last competition before Berlin in August and will surely look to win another medal before home crowd.
Frank Casanas (ESP) and Bogdan Pishchalnikov (RUS), fifth and sixth respectively in Beijing, have both thrown well this season too and are ready for Berlin. American Champion Casey Malone has a best of 68.49m which gives him fourth place in the world list but Malone hasn’t reached 65m in a normal stadium competition this season, throwing 64.99m at the US championships.
2004 Olympics silver medallist Zoltan Kovago (HUN) has thrown 67.64m this season and Mario Pestano (ESP) 66.63m. Pestano was ninth in Beijing and 10th in Osaka. Egyptian Omar El-Ghazaly, who was sixth in Osaka 2007 also has come close to his personal best this season with a 66.34m effort. All of these athletes will be looking for a top eight finish in Berlin.
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF
