Mykolas Alekna

In June 2022, 19-year-old Mykolas Alekna threw his new personal best of 69.81 m while finishing second at the Stockholm Diamond League meet, the longest ever discus throw by a teenager. At the 2022 World Championships held in Eugene, Oregon in July, he lost only to Kristjan Čeh, becoming the youngest world discus medallist in history.^[3] Less than a month later at the European Championships Munich 2022, Alekna became the first teenager to win a medal in the discus throw, let alone the gold, beating Čeh and all three medallists from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. His father had won this title 16 years earlier.^[9][4]

On 29 April 2023 at The Big Meet in Berkeley, California, Alekna became the youngest discus thrower in history to throw beyond 70 metres, moving up to 18th on the world all-time list with his new best of 71.00 m, a new European U23 record.^[10][11]

On the second day of the 2024 Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational in Ramona, Oklahoma, on 14 April, Alekna set a new world record of 74.35 m, surpassing Jürgen Schult's previous record of 74.08 m.^[12] This record had stood since 1986, making it the longest-standing world record in men's athletics.^[13] Under near-perfect conditions, Alekna surpassed the mark of 70 m with all six of his attempts (throwing 72.21, 70.32, 72.89, 70.51, 74.35 and 70.50 m),^[14][15] each of which stood among the 100 best discus throws of all time.^[16]

In the Paris 2024 Olympics, Alekna secured the silver medal with a throw of 69.97 metres on his second attempt, surpassing his father Virgiljus' Olympic record that had stood since Athens 2004. However, the record was broken by gold medalist Rojé Stona minutes later, who threw his personal best and set a new olympic record at 70.0 metres.^[17]

Early in 2025, Alekna competed for University of California, Berkeley at the 2025 Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational in Ramona, Oklahoma, on April 13. Early in the competition, Alekna threw a new world record of 74.89 m. In a later round, Alekna made a throw that was initially outside of the right hand sector while in mid-air but was blown back in bounds for a new world record of 75.56 m. This throw made Alekna the first male competitor to throw over 75 meters in discus history. It also set a new NCAA record. Alekna won the silver medal with a throw of 67.84m at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.^[18] He also transferred to the University of Oregon in 2025 but tore his pectoral muscle before the start of the 2026 collegiate season.^[19]