Swedish athlete Daniel Stahl, who has Finnish roots, received support from the spectators at the “Paavo Nurmi” stadium in Turku.
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However, the 33-year-old discus thrower withdrew from the competition after three throws.
“Nothing happened, I didn’t get injured,” D. Stahlis, who won his third career world championship gold last year, later told “Iltalehti”.
He stated that he would appear in another competition in Stockholm on Sunday.
“Last week I did heavy squats. I feel my groin is a bit stiff. I need a massage. I don’t want to take risks. The season is long,” D. Stahlis explained.
In the competition in Finland, Slovenian Kristjan Čehas took first place. In the presence of his wife, Estonian hammer thrower Anna Maria Čeh, he threw the discus 69 m 13 cm with his best attempt.
D. Stahlis was second, throwing the implement 67 m 40 cm with his second attempt.
Australian Matthew Denny finished third – 67 m 26 cm.
This was the first elite discus throwers’ tournament in Europe this season, and the most important competition – the European Championship – will take place in August in England.
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In April, several strong discus throwers competed in Ramona, Oklahoma, where Mykolas Alekna set world records last year and the year before.
In Ramona, where competitions are held outdoors, seven of the ten best throws in the history of this event have been recorded.
This year, K. Čehas, who had ambitions to set a new record, remained far from his goal in terms of results, and D. Stahlis did not go to Oklahoma.
“I don’t want to throw in the wind somewhere. I want to throw in a stadium,” asserted the Olympic and three-time world champion. “I’m not interested in going somewhere and throwing for a Swedish record. I want to achieve that at the ‘Paavo Nurmi Games’ or in Stockholm.”
