Matt Denny in Ramona (© Louie Hadfield)
Olympic bronze medallist Matt Denny threw a world-leading 74.04m to win an extraordinary men’s discus contest at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational in Ramona on Thursday (9), where six athletes surpassed the 70-metre mark in a single competition for the first time.
The women's contest on Saturday (11) also broke new ground as Valarie Sion won with 73.10m from Jorinde van Klinken (70.99m), marking the first competition in 37 years in which two women have thrown beyond 70 metres.
While Denny ultimately took the win on Friday, Germany’s Steven Richter delivered the most notable performance of the competition. The European U23 champion moved into the lead in the third round with a huge PB of 74.00m, improving significantly on his previous best of 69.61m, and backed it up immediately with 73.96m in the fourth round.
Denny, who led for the first two rounds with his opening throw of 72.01m, regained the lead in the fifth round with 74.04m – the third-best throw of his career behind the Oceanian records of 74.25m and 74.78m he set in Ramona last year. He closed with 71.84m to complete a series in which all six throws exceeded 70 metres.
Richter, meanwhile, produced five throws beyond 70 metres and three beyond 73m. His breakthrough performance lifts him to fourth on the world all-time list.
Slovenia’s 2022 world champion Kristjan Ceh finished third with a national record of 72.61m, achieved with his final throw, while USA’s Sam Mattis set a North American record of 72.45m in the second round to finish fourth.
Olympic champion Roje Stona finished fifth with a PB of 70.66m, and world bronze medallist Alex Rose of Samoa placed sixth with 70.43m.
USA’s Texas Tanner narrowly missed joining the 70-metre group, placing seventh with a PB of 69.56m. Earlier in the programme, Reggie Jagers won the left-handed discus competition with 69.09m.
Two days later, Denny and Richter enjoyed another close tussle with the Australian once again prevailing.
Denny opened with 71.43m and then improved to 73.49m in round two. Richter sent his discus out to 72.47m in round four, and Denny responded with 72.58m before improving to 73.58m in the final round.
In third, Lawrence Okoye extended his own British record to 71.88m to finish ahead of Ceh (70.94m) and Mattis (69.75m).
Sion rebounds from defeat to throw 73.10m
World silver medallist Jorinde van Klinken of the Netherlands won the women’s contest on Friday with a world-leading 68.98m, leading a Dutch 1-2 from compatriot Alida van Daalen, who set a PB of 67.99m.
Germany’s Marike Steinacker was third (66.55m) and France’s Melina Robert-Michon finished fourth with 65.96m, a world best for the W45 category.
Sion (née Allman) placed sixth with 65.18m, recording four fouls in a rare off day that ended a winning streak stretching back to the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
But she rebounded two days later by producing the second-best throw of her career.
Sion opened with 71.00m and then threw 73.10m in round three – just 42 centimetres shy of her own North American record set last year, also in Ramona. Van Klinken produced three throws beyond 70 metres: 70.20m, 70.76m and a PB of 70.99m in the final round. Van Daalen was third with 69.17m.
Elsewhere, world indoor champion Chase Jackson won the women’s shot put with 20.13m while Roger Steen won the men’s contest with 21.77m.
The four-day meeting concludes on Sunday (12).
