If he did not hide his frustration after the final, the next day – having received the real championship medal (temporary awards are given to the prize-winners immediately after the event to pose for photographers) Mykolas also managed a smile.
In the historic men’s discus throw final (the average result is the highest in history – 66.28 m), 23-year-old Mykolas took 2nd place on Thursday.
The winner was Slovenian Kristjan Čeh, who set a championship record (72.51 m), and the bronze went to the German Henrik Janssen, who threw the farthest this season (69.53 m).
Mykolas Alekna, who completed his European medal collection: “I still wanted gold…”
Čeh, who grabbed gold, also thanked Alekna: “It was like a boost of energy for me”
Mykolas’s brother, 25-year-old Martynas Alekna, was 12th in the final (61.78 m), and the third Lithuanian, 35-year-old Andrius Gudžius, finished ninth (63.99 m).
Understand instantly
The last time three Lithuanian discus throwers competed in the European Championship final was in 1998 in Budapest, when Virgilijus Alekna won bronze (66.46 m), Romas Ubartas took 9th place (61.66 m), and the current coach of A. Gudžius, Vaclovas Kidykas, was eleventh (60.21 m).
By winning silver, Mykolas completed his collection of European Championship medals (he won gold in 2022 and bronze in 2024).
Kristjan Čeh
Mykolas Alekna
Henrik Janssen
Daniel Stahl
Shaquille Emanuelson
Diego Casas
Dimitrios Pavlidis
Lukas Weißhaidinger
Lolasson Djouhan
