WCH Tokyo 25 facts and figures: men's discus

Last three sets of World Athletics Championships medallists

2023 – 1 Daniel Ståhl (SWE) 71.46m, 2 Kristjan Čeh (SLO) 70.02m, 3 Mykolas Alekna (LTU) 68.85m
2022 – 1 Kristjan Čeh (SLO) 71.13m, 2 Mykolas Alekna (LTU) 69.27m, 3 Andrius Gudžius (LTU) 67.55m
2019 – 1 Daniel Ståhl (SWE) 67.59m, 2 Fedrick Dacres (JAM) 66.94m, 3 Lukas Weisshaidinger (AUT) 66.82m

Last two sets of Olympic medallists

2024 – 1 Rojé Stona (JAM) 70.00m, 2 Mykolas Alekna (LTU) 69.97m, 3 Matthew Denny (AUS) 69.31m
2020 – 1 Daniel Ståhl (SWE) 68.90m, 2 Simon Pettersson (SWE) 67.39m, 3 Lukas Weisshaidinger (AUT) 67.07m

Longest winning throws in World Athletics Championships history

Daniel Ståhl (SWE) – 71.46 (2023)
Kristjan Čeh (SLO) – 71.13 (2022)
Virgilijus Alekna (LTU) – 70.17 (2005)

Shortest winning throw in World Athletics Championships history

Lars Riedel (GER) – 66.20 (1991)

Best marks on Japanese soil

68.98m 1 Georgiy Kolnootchenko (URS//BLR) - Tokyo 22.09.1985
68.94m 1 Gerd Kanter (EST) - Osaka (World Championships) 28.02.2007
68.90m 1 Daniel Ståhl (SWE) - Tokyo (Olympics) 31.07.2021

Best marks on Asian soil

70.89m 1 Kristjan Čeh (SLO) - Doha 05.05.2023
70.56m 1 Daniel Ståhl (SWE) - Doha 03.05.2019
70.48m 1 Kristjan Čeh (SLO) - Doha 10.05.2024

Biggest winning margins

2.52m 1987 – 68.74m Jürgen Schult (GDR), 66.22m John Powell (USA)
2.26m 2007 – 68.94m Gerd Kanter (EST), 66.68m Robert Harting (GER)
2.02m 2011 – 68.97m Robert Harting (GER), 66.95m Gerd Kanter (EST)

​​Smallest winning margins

0.02m 2017 – 69.21m Andrius Gudžius (LTU), 69.19m Daniel Ståhl (SWE)
0.28m 2009 – 69.43m Robert Harting (GER), 69.15m Piotr Malachowski (POL)
0.32m 2001 – 69.72m Lars Riedel (GER), 69.40m Virgilijus Alekna (LTU)

Best mark by round

Qualification — 68.91m Mykolas Alekna (LTU), 2022
Final — 71.46m Daniel Ståhl (SWE), 2023

Multiple winners

1991/93/95/97/01 - Lars Riedel (GER)
2003/05 - Virgilijus Alekna (LTU)
2009/11/13 - Robert Harting (GER)
2019/23 - Daniel Stahl (SWE)

Winners by country

8 - Germany
3 - Lithuania
2 - Sweden
1 - Czechoslovakia
1 - German Democratic Republic
1 - United States
1 - Estonia
1 - Poland
1 - Slovenia

Five historic facts

• Lars Riedel (GER) is the most successful athlete in championship history, winning five titles between 1991-2001
• The last two men's discus finals at the World Championships have been won with 71 metre-plus throws 
• Kristjan Ceh (SLO) became the event's youngest champion in Oregon in 2022 at 23y/152d. Mykolas Alekna (LTU) became the event's youngest medallist in the same competition at 19y/294d
• Virgilijus Alekna (LTU), the father of Mykolas, became the first thrower to break the 70 metre-barrier in Helsinki in 2005 with 70.17m
• There has only been one non-European winner of the title: Anthony Washington (USA) in 1999

Potential storylines

• The entry-list features five of the 10 longest throwers in history including world record-holder Mykolas Alekna (75.56m) and Matt Denny (74.78m)
• The entry-list features every medallist from the last three editions of the World Championships 
• Could we see three throwers all break the 70 metre-line for the first time in a major championships?
• Can Mykolas Alekna (LTU) follow in the footsteps of his father Virgilijus who won this title in 2003 and 2005?
• Can Daniel Ståhl (SWE) become just the third three-time winner of this title after Lars Riedel and Robert Harting?
• Daniel Ståhl's 69.90m in qualifying was the longest ever throw recorded in a qualifying round at a World Championships as well as a Japanese all-comers' record 
• Could there be a non-European winner for the first time this century? The last non-European winner was Anthony Washington (USA) in 1999