Cal Throwers Mykolas Alekna, Camryn Rogers Voted No. 1 in the World

Track & Field News puts Rogers at the top for the second year in a row, Alekna earns his first No. 1 ranking

Camry Rogers celebrates her gold medal at Paris. / James Lang-Imagn Images

Two Cal athletes — redshirt junior Mykolas Alekna and alum Camryn Rogers — have been awarded world No. 1 rankings for 2024 by Track and Field News.

Alekna earned the nod for the first time after crushing the 38-year-old world record in the men’s discus, then winning a silver medal in the event at the at the age of 21 at the Paris Olympics.

Rogers, who graduated from Cal in 2022, was voted No. 1 in the women’s hammer throw for the second year in a row after capturing the gold medal at Paris.

This marks the first time two Cal athletes have been voted No. 1 in the world in the same year. Both athletes are coached by Cal’s assistant and throws specialist Mohamad Saatara.

Mykolas Alekna / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Alekna, a native of Lithuania, shocked the track and field world on April 14 when he threw the discus 243 feet, 11 inches (74.35 meters) at Ramona, Okla., to erase the longest-standing men’s world record in the sport.

The previous record of 243-0 (74.08) was set by East Germany’s Jurgen Schult in 1986. Schult now resides at No. 2 on the all-time list with Aleena’s father, two-time Olympic champion Virgilijus Alekna, third at 242-5 (73.88).

Alekna is the first Cal athlete ever to be named world No. 1 while still competing in college. He stepped away from college competition last season to train unattached for the Olympics but returned this fall with two years of eligibility remaining.

He also is the first Cal male athlete named No. 1 in his event since pole vaulter Guinn Smith, who won the 1948 Olympic title.

Alekna secured a silver medal medal at Paris with a throw of 229-6 (69.97), which was the second-longest ever at the Olympics. Jamaica’s Rose Stona was an upset winner at the Games with an Olympic-record and lifetime-best mark of 229-8 (70.00).

Alekna was ranked No. 3 worldwide in 2023 and No. 2 in 2022, both years earning podium finishes at the World Championships. 

Rogers, a 25-year-old Canadian, followed her 2023 World Championships triumph with a gold-medal effort at the Paris Games. She is the first women in Cal program history to secure top-10 rankings four times, having finished No. 2 in 2022 and No. 8 in 2021.

She competed eight times last season, finishing atop the podium in seven of them. Rogers became the first Cal woman to win a gold medal in any Olympic track and field event and just the fifth Canadian woman to do so in any sport.

The collegiate recordholder in the women’s hammer and three-time NCAA champion (2019-21-22), Rogers threw 252-6 (76.97) to win at Paris. That’s shy of her lifetime best of 257-11 (78.62), which she established in 2023 and places her No. 5 on the all-time world list.

Georgia Bell / Andrew Nelles-Imagn Images

Meanwhile, Britain’s Georgia Bell, who competed as a middle-distance runner at Cal a decade ago, was ranked No. 5 in the women’s 1,500 meters after a stunning return to the sport.

Bell, 31, captured an Olympic bronze medal in the event, setting a national record of 3:52.61 at the distance. Her 1,500 time was fourth-best in the world in 2024 and vaulted her to No. 11 all-time. She also ran 1:56.28 in the 800 to rank No. 3 on the 2024 world list.

She will run twice indoors in the U.S. next month, competing at 3,000 meters at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix at Boston on Feb. 2, then in the mile at the Millrace Games at New York on Feb. 8.

Former Cal decathlete Hakim McMorris earned his first U.S. top-10 ranking, placing No. 8 in the 10-event discipline. A three-time NCAA meet qualifier and 2023 All-American, McMorris cracked the 8,000-point plateau for the first time in 2024, scoring 8,015 points at Cal’s Brutus Hamilton Invitational.

The 2025 track and field calendar is highlighted by the 20th World Championships, set for Sept. 13-21 at Tokyo.