Cal's Mykolas Alekna Youngest Ever to Set World Record in the Discus

Redshirting this season to prep for the Paris Olympics, Alekna is just 21 years old.

Cal discus star Mykolas Alekna / Photo by Ben Longergan, USA Today

Mykolas Alekna became the 27th man to set the world record in the discus since the start of the IAAF era in 1912.

And at the age of 21, Alekna is the youngest to do it.

The native Lithuanian and Cal junior, who is redshirting this season to prepare for the Paris Olympics, threw 243 feet, 11 inches (74.35 meters) at Ramona, Oklahoma, on Sunday to add nearly a foot to the 38-year-old record held by East Germany’s Jurgen Schult.

Schult was 26 years old when he set his record in 1986. Each of the previous 25 world-recordholders — who combined to break the standard 40 times — also was older than Alekna. He won’t turn 22 until Sept. 28, about 5 1/2 months from now.

Asked about Alekna’s achievement at such a tender age, Cal throws coach Mo Saatara said, “Obviously, just comparing him to everyone who came before him, there’s not that many guys that have done this stuff.”

Alekna is the son of two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion Virgilijus Alekna, and Saatara says a lot of credit must go to those whose guidance shaped Mykolas’ early development.

“His parents and his coach back home, they’ve done an absolutely marvelous job of raising a great kid, and teaching him to be a disciplined athlete, a disciplined person,” Saatara said. “He’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

The previous youngest thrower to etch his name in the record book was Paul Jessup, a University of Washington student, who was one month shy of 22 when he threw 169-8 (51.73) on Aug. 23, 1930 at the AAU championships at Pittsburgh.

Jessup was among the favorites to win gold at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, but he finished eighth.

Jessup’s record was eclipsed by Eric Krenz, a Stanford student, who threw 163-8 (49.90) on March 9, 1929 when he was just two months shy of his 23rd birthday. Krenz, who later became the first man to break 50 meters, also was a gold-medal favorite in ‘32 but he died a year before the Games in a drowning accident at Lake Tahoe.

Because athletes had no way to financially support themselves while continuing to train after college a century ago, records in those days mostly were set by younger men. 

That has changed with the rise of professionalism in the sport, with only eight of the past 21 recordholders under the age of 25 and two of them 30 or older.

Among some of the most prominent past world-recordholders, East Germany’s Wolfgang Schmidt was 24 years old when he set the record, Americans Mac Wilkins and John Powell were 25 and 27, respectively. 

Al Oerter was 24 when he set the record the first of four times and fellow American Jay Sylvester was 23.

The first man to set record since the IAAF began ratifying them was American James Duncan. The 24-year-old made his mark by throwing 156-1 (47.58 meters) on May 27, 1912 at the Post Office Clerk’s Association Games at Travers Island, NY. His record stood for more than 12 years.