Cal Alum Mykolas Alekna Dominates London Diamond League Meet

Cal alum Mykolas Alekna, world-recordholder in the discus, continues to deliver on the international stage.

The 22-year-old Lithuania won the London Diamond League meet on Saturday with a throw of 235 feet, 3 inches (71.70 meters). His mark eclipsed the two-year-old meet record of 233-10 (71.27), set by Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh.

Alekna won by a margin of nearly 10 feet over Ceh, 26, the 2022 world champ, who wound up second with a best of 225-10 (68.83).

"Conditions were not too good but it was not slippery so I felt very confident with my throws and my techique," Alekna said afterward. "It is my biggest throw ever in this stadium. People have been saying I only throw big outside of stadiums, but now I have thrown big inside one. "

The three world records Alekna set over the past two seasons came at a small venue in Oklahoma, where wind conditions for throwers are ideal.

"I was a little bit nervous because this is my first big meet of the year in front of a huge crowd, so I really enjoyed it," he said. "It took me until the third round to feel comfortable, but I think the support really pushed us all on, so by that third round, it all came together and that is when the big throw came."

Alekna took home a silver medal at the Paris Games and twice has reached the podium at the World Championships. This was his fifth career victory at a Diamond Leah competition. The highlight of his schedule this season is the World Championships, Sept. 13-21 in Tokyo.

Alekna finished his career at Cal this spring and announced he will complete his college eligibility next year at Oregon.

Britain’s Lawrence Okoye, 32, was third at 220-7 (67.24). Sweden’s Daniel Stahl, 32, the 2021 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist and a two-time world champion, placed fourth at 218-7 (66.62) and Jamaica’s Roje’s Stona, 26, the surprise upset winner over Alekna at the Paris Olympics last summer, settled for fifth at 212-3 (64.71).

Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell, 31, who ran at Cal a decade ago and won a bronze medal in the women’s 1500 meters at the Paris Olympics, decisively won the 800 with a season-best time of 1:56.74. Her time is off her lifetime best of 1:56.28, but moves her to second on the 2025 world list. 

"So much of the 800 is about positioning so you have to be aware of what is going on around you all the time," Bell said. "This is exactly what I have been working on; keeping the right line and position within the race. In that last 100m I felt amazing so I really wanted to push to the finish line."

Bell said running in front of a home crowd was a huge lift. " You feel so supported in this stadium . . . it is so noisy and for us British girls it is incredible."

CAL HIRES NEW THROWS COACH: In the wake of assistant coach Mo Saatara departing Cal this summer to become throws coach at Texas, Bears head coach Robyne Johnson announced the hiring of Tyler Burdorff to handle the assignment.

Burdorff comes to Cal from Maryland, where he developed a pair of national recordholders along with two All-Americans, and four USA Track & Field (USATF) Indoor Championships finalists. 

“We are delighted to announce Tyler as our new assistant coach for Cal throws,” Johnson said in a statement. “Tyler stood out during the interview process, not only for his coaching acumen but also for the bond he has forged with his student-athletes and his unwavering commitment to helping them grow, both competitively and personally. We are thrilled to launch a new era for Cal throws with Tyler leading the way.”

Saatara coached Alekna and Cal alum Camryn Rogers, a three-time NCAA champion in the women’s hammer throw and the Paris Olympic champion.