WITH OLY GOLD medalist Roje Stona not having accumulated enough DL qualifying points during the regular season, the discus projected as a battle between his Paris podium mates, Mykolas Alekna and Matt Denny. And that’s exactly how it played out.
Throwing last in the 7-man order, as it would turn out, Denny settled the battle for supremacy in the first round with an Aussie Record 229-6 (69.96), just missing the event’s landmark 70-meter barrier.
A surprise winner last year, he said, “It’s nice to go back to back and take the win again today, it feels really great. I am in great shape so I knew something great was going to happen but I knew I had to give it my all to win from these guys today.”
WR holder Alekna had a frustrating day, opening with a pair of fouls and a modest 205-9 (62.72) that moved him into 5th. A 217-3 (66.22) in stanza 4 briefly moved him into 2nd, but later in the round he was passed by both Lukas Weißhaidinger (218-3/66.52) and Daniel Ståhl (217-5/66.26).
Alekna took a good run at Denny in go-round 5, reaching his best of the day at 225-11 (68.86) but that was as close as he got. “It was a really nice competition, maybe a little bit too cold,” he said. “Now, I will take a break, go to school and get back to studying in the States.”
Results
1. Matt Denny (Aus) 229-6 (69.96) NR (229-6, 225-7, f, f, 224-3, f) (69.96, 68.77, f, f, 68.36, f); 2. Mykolas Alekna (Lit) 225-11 (68.86) (f, f, 205-9, 217-3, 225-11, 220-3) (f, f, 62.72, 66.22, 68.86, 67.15); 3. Lukas Weißhaidinger (Aut) 218-3 (66.52); 4. Daniel Ståhl (Swe) 217-5 (66.26); 5. Kristjan Čeh (Slo) 214-7 (65.40); 6. Philip Milanov (Bel) 204-1 (62.21); 7. Fedrick Dacres (Jam) 202-2 (61.63).