Men's Discus Tokyo

 Flingin' in the Rain

by Mark Cullen

Holding the men's discus in the pouring rain after a two-hour delay is not a decision I would have made. But it wasn't mine to make, and the institutional momentum that required the World Championships to finish late Sunday night and not sometime on Monday was, perhaps, the biggest winner of all. The powers that be can count their lucky stars that not one of the world's platter greats got injured in the soaking wet, slippery ring.

Enough of my editorial... on with the terrific competition that took place in spite of the disheartening  conditions. 

The first-round results were abysmal in the torrential rain. The farthest of the 7 fair throws was 63.64 by (younger brother) Martynas Alekna, and the average of those seven throws was an unheard of 59.31m. 

Things got better as the rain eased. Big brother Mykolas Alekna took the lead from his younger brother in the second round at 67.84, and this stood as the leader through five rounds.

Except that there are six.

Sweden's Daniel Stahl threatened Alekna's lead in both the 4th (67.47) and 5th (66.97) rounds, but could not muster quite enough to pass him.

But oh that fateful 6th. 

Stahl unleashed the only 70m throw of the night and went soaring past Alekna to land at 70.47. Alekna tried too hard to pass him on his last throw and ended up fouling the attempt. What had been a close competition turned into a decisive victory by Stahl by 2.63m.

Unfortunately, Stahl could not stop to speak with journalists in the Mixed Zone as he was rushed to the close-to-midnight medal ceremony. But the flash quotes team caught up to him. 

"The ring was perfect," said the sometimes contrarian Stahl. "I was feeling amazing and really had fun today... Mentally, I was ready for the last throw. I prepared myself for it. You have to be ready and focus."

A notable finish by Australian Matthew Denny in 4th... and most negatively affected by the weather was Daniel Ceh (Slo, 8th), an always dependable finisher in the top 3 or better.

This event is never without its share of surprises, and the best of all tonight was the winner of the bronze medal at 66.96m. Go on. Guess. Hey, it's getting late and we need an answer.

Alex Rose of American Samoa. His world ranking is #34. He is the 3-time Oceania champion, 33 years old, and finished in the top 8 at Worlds once before.

Rose said, "This is one of the greatest moments in my entire life and it's been 20 years in the making. I was never the favorite. I did not throw 60m until I was out of college. It's been a really long road. To win a bronze medal is a dream come true." 

And he took time off work to make the trip to Tokyo.

I'll conclude with an editor's note. Normally, I'd lead with a photo of the champion. Stahl has won three World golds, one Olympic gold, and a World silver. He's had plenty of front-page photos, especially in Sweden. The choice for tonight's photo is clear:

Alex Rose 

Bronze Medalist, Men's Discus

World Championships, Tokyo

Photo by Mattia Ozbot for World Athletics

Quotes from the flash interview team at World Athletics

Tokyo Men's Javelin

Mettle for the Medal

Curtis Thompson Wins Historic Bronze

by Mark Cullen

The men’s javelin competition was not quite what most expected. With 7 of the 12 finalists entering with PBs over 90m, surely a contest of exceptionally long throws would break out.

Surely it would take 90m to medal.

Nope. Not tonight.

Instead, a packed stadium was treated to a terrific competition of another kind: tight, tense, taut – and not helped by the rain that made an otherwise welcome appearance after a week of brutal heat and humidity.

There was not a single throw over 90m.

However, throwing far early sealed the medals deal.

Surprisingly, Curtis Thompson (US) led after the first round at 86.67. This from a country that last medaled in 2007.

“I expected 90m to take a medal,” Thompson said. “So was I satisfied with that mark? Of course, it was a great mark and I tried my best to build on it. It worked out!”

Curtis Thompson, US

Bronze Medalist, Javelin

photo by Mattia Ozbot for World Athletics

2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott (87.83) of Trinidad and Tobago, and two-time (2019 and 2022) World champion Anderson Peters (87.38) of Grenada, established themselves in gold and silver positions in the second round.

Then it was a long evening for Thompson to see if he would become the first US men’s javelin medalist in 18 years.

The only substantive change in the last four rounds was that Walcott increased his lead with a tremendous 88.16 in the 4^th, but this did not alter the ultimate order.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was that 2025 yearly list leader Julian Weber (Ger) finished 5^th at 86.11m when he brought in a season’s best of 91.51.

It was sad to see Julius Yego (Ken) out after three rounds with a recurrence of the groin injury that plagued him in 2016, the year after his historic World title as the first African man to win.

But he withdrew from the competition before it got worse, having learned in ’16 how long this injury could linger.

“The future is good,” Yego said, and he was pleased have thrown over 85m  (85.54 in 6^th place) before the injury struck. “I was feeling I could have done even better than that.”

India’s Sachin Yadav picked a great day to set a PB; he finished 4^th only 40 centimeters behind Thompson.

Thompson, a soft-spoken high school track coach from Alabama, is currently unsponsored; perhaps this medal will earn him a sponsorship from one of the sport’s ladles of largesse.

“This means a lot,” said Thompson. “I’m hoping this continues to change the kind of standard that’s here in the US for javelin. I’m excited for the future of US javelin because this is just going to continue to grow.”

“I’m extremely happy to throw well and bring home the World bronze. I was not the favorite but I always believe in me.”

 

*Thanks to the terrific World Athletics flash quote crew for the concluding remarks by Thompson. 

 

Hammer Time in Tokyo!

 A Preview of Coming Attractions

by Mark Cullen

Canada’s Camryn Rogers won the World hammer throw title on Monday with a lifetime best and Canadian national record of 80.51m (264-1).

Canada’s Ethan Katzberg won the World  hammer throw title on Tuesday with a lifetime best and Canadian national record of 84.70m (277-11).

In a sport known to reward longevity, Rogers at 26 now has won two World golds and one silver, and the ’24 Olympic gold medal to boot.

In a sport known to reward longevity, Katzberg at 23 now has won two World golds and the ’24 Olympic gold medal to boot.

At the end of two days of hammerin’ history, Rogers found herself to be the #2 women’s performer all-time, with Katzberg #5 among men.

The youth movement was not restricted to the very top.

China’s dynamic duo of Zie Zhao (22) and Zhiale Zhang (18) won silver and bronze with throws of 77.60 and 77.10, respectively. Zhang is the current world junior champion and Zhao won bronze at the Paris Olympics.

There were two key moments in the competition itself. The first was Rogers’ historic barrier breaking 80.51 in the second round. While the air didn’t exactly go out of the competition, she did win by almost 3 meters.

The medalists had separated themselves from the field in the first round. When it came to ascending the podium, only the color of the medals was yet to be determined, not who would wear them.

Zhang and Zhou provided much of the remaining excitement when Zhao pipped Zhang for silver in the last round. Still, bronze in the hammer at age 18? It’s all in a memorable night’s work for Zhang.

Finland’s Silja Kosonen was 4^th at 75.28m, while 2019 champion DeAnna Price (US) was close behind in 5^th at 75.10m. Price said that, over the course of the next year, she is ready to return to the form that made her one of only four women over 80m in history.

2022 World champion Brooke Anderson (US) fouled all three trials and did not advance to the final.

An exuberant Rogers couldn’t contain her excitement about what had just taken place in the hammer ring, not only for herself but for the entire field – and the entire sport.

She stood in the ring looking at where her momentous throw had landed and said to herself, “It actually might be kind of far!”

World Champion Camryn Rogers

photo by Mark Cullen

And when the number popped up, “I immediately got hugged by all the women out there. I love every single thrower in the sport,” she said, “because we all support each other. We all celebrate each other’s wins.”

As for the future of this sport, Rogers said, “We’re just getting started!”

In the men’s final, the youth movement continued as Germany’s Marlen Hummel (23) led Katzberg (23) after the first round by 11cm.

That lead did not last for long.

Katzberg unleashed his remarkable 84.70 in the second round and proceeded to record one of the most memorable series in history: 82.66/85.70/82.01/81.86/83.07/83.73.

In order to play this evening, you had to be over the benchmark 80m, and there were 4 throwers and 15 throws over this standard.

Hummel won silver with his first round 82.77, while Hungary’s Bence Halasz (28) won bronze with his third-round 82.69.

Mirroring how the women’s contest played out with three throwers vying for the medals, in retrospect we knew early which four throwers would determine the three medals among the men

Ukraine’s Mykhaylo Kokhan threw 82.02 in the fifth round to win… 4^th place?!

And American Rudy Winkler had his best major meet result ever in 5^th with 78.52.

“It’s never happened in my career to have that level of competition,” said Katzberg.

In regards to the new international schedule which features Worlds as a true culminating event – and finishing upwards of five weeks later than before - Katzberg said, “I just had to slow down spring training just to make sure this was my best form today. I think that it’s a great way to do things… it’s been an incredible world championships so far."

When Rogers and Katzberg entered the ring, there was palpable excitement in the stadium. The crowd’s roar trailed the flight of the steel ball, followed by an eruption of cheering and applause.

In women’s hammer, the locus has switched from Central Europe to Canada, China, and the United States, and the youth movement we saw in Tokyo the last two nights is indeed a preview of coming attractions.

All is not lost for Central Europe on the men’s side as they still held 6 of the 12 finalist positions. But Central Europe occupied only 2 of 12 places in the women’s final.

One of those was held by Poland’s legendary three-time Olympic champion and world record holder, Anita Wlodarczyk, in 6^th place now, at age 40.

Camryn Rogers and Ethan Katzberg share a coach, Canadian Olympic shot put bronze and World silver and bronze medalist, Dylan Armstrong, who earlier in his career had modest results in the hammer before deciding to focus on the shot.

When it comes to heritage, who was Armstrong’s coach? None other than Ukraine’s Anatoliy Bondarchuk, himself 1972 Olympic hammer champion and widely regarded as one of the finest hammer coaches in history.

With gold medals for both the men and women, the locus of hammer throwing is now the National Throws Centre in Kamloops, British Columbia, where Dylan Armstrong trained under Bondarchuk. Every spring, Kamloops hosts the Dylan Armstrong Track Classic.

Meanwhile, US thrower Trey Knight finished a memorable breakout season by finishing 10^th in the world in this championship.

As to how old he is… nah, it couldn’t be. Is he really?

Yes, he, too, is 23.

Mondo's WR and MOWA Tokyo

Broken Record

by Mark Cullen

Last night’s spectacular women’s hammer throw competition lived up to its billing; the men’s hammer final is tonight, with equal anticipation and excitement. I’ll discuss both in my next post, as they have one distinctive thread in common.

Hint: start practicing the words to “Oh, Canada.”

Even with the usual focus in my reports on the throws, the lead today has to be Armand “Mondo” Duplantis’ world record in the pole vault.

If Mondo’s story is getting to sound like a broken record, well, it is.

6.30 is the magic number this time – an astonishing height of 20’ 8”. A new world record. Or should we say the latest one, knowing how likely it is there are more to come?

After all, it’s his fourth WR of the year, and the 14^th of his career.

How high is 20’8”?

Fortuitously, two days ago I made my way to the MOWA (Museum of World Athletics) exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building #1.

MOWA Director Chris Turner has done another exemplary job of staging an exhibition which has meaning to casual as well as expert fans, and to a local as well as international audience.

Turner had the foresight to mark the women’s and men’s high jump and pole vault world records on the expansive walls of the exhibition space.

Given the fluidity of these events, Turner noted in the exhibition space the dates on which these records were set. Since the men’s pole vault world record depicted here was set on February 28, 2025, Duplantis has broken the record an additional three times.

Also engaging are the shot put, javelin, discus, and hammer throw interactive exhibitions. You can lift each of these implements – women’s as well as men’s – or you can try!

Attempting to lift these will give you a new-found appreciation of what the athletes accomplish and achieve.

If you’re far away from Tokyo and cannot attend, try picking up something that weighs approximately 16 pounds to give yourself an idea of what it might be like to attempt to throw a men’s shot 70’.

Mondo is a shoo-in for track and field male athlete of the year awards. He’s undefeated with four world records – it's hard to top that. The next time there is a world record by Mondo in the pole vault, it will probably sound like a broken record.

Because it is!

*Note: The MOWA exhibition is conveniently located for media members who are staying across the street at one of the two Washington-brand media hotels.

Yes, you can see his singlet as well!

Women's Discus

Valarie Allman’s Magic City

By Mark Cullen

Valarie Allman

                                                                photo by Mark Cullen

For four rounds the question hung heavily in the heavy air: Would this be another close call for two-time Olympic discus champion Valarie Allman at Worlds?

For four rounds, the field was nipping at her heels. Jorinde van Klinken, the Dutch Oregon Duck, trailed Allman by only 13 cm after the first round, 67.63 – 67.50.

There they stood, round after round, throw after throw, deep into the 5^th round when Allman unleashed her decisive 69.48, a mark which made the ultimate outcome appear easier than it had been.

“For me, I love to hit it big on the first one,” Allman said, “but it wasn’t until round 5 that I felt like things really clicked.”

“It means so much to me,” Allman said of her long-sought World win. “I think I didn’t realize the weight that I’ve been carrying of missing this title.”

“I have to admit,” she said, “I just felt kind of technically off tonight. The way training had been going, I felt like I was definitely capable of a better series overall.”

Allman has been twice bitten in World Championship finals.

“I think in the past it’s haunted me how some of the competitions have played out,” she acknowledged. “So I just kept trying to stay in my groove... and be ready to respond, if necessary.”

“I didn’t think 67 (meters) would hold, and I knew that when there’s that energy bump that a crowd can give, magic can happen. I’ve seen it happen in the past and thought there was a good chance it was going to happen again tonight.”

Tonight, the magic was Allman’s.

This time, the late round decider was hers.

Ultimately, van Klinken’s first-round throw stood up for silver, while winning bronze was Cuba’s Selinda Morales, who picked a terrific day to set an impressive personal best of 67.25.

In a memorably engaging moment, her thrilled relatives could be heard celebrating across the entire stadium!

Fourth was Sweden’s Vanessa Kamga with a PB and national record of 66.61.

In a remarkably deep competition, the top 8 threw 65.21 or farther.

“For there to be two new medalists tonight shows that there’s a lot of people that are capable and hungry,” observed Allman.

“I think it was at that moment in Doha (Worlds 2019, where she finished a very disappointed 7^th) that I realized how amazing it would be to have a moment at a global championship.”

So she and her team made each year’s major – Olympics or Worlds – their “North Star.”

With that singular goal came the ever-building pressures that come with success.

“I think that at this point in my career, I feel so much pressure to win, and I think I felt it even more somehow tonight. “

“A lot of people had told me I had bad luck or was cursed. It starts to play some mind games with you, but I think in my journey, it was meant to be this way.”

Allman is now that rarest of athletes: World and Olympic Champion, and with a complete set of World Championship medals: gold, silver, and bronze.

Rarer still: she has won World and Olympic titles in the same stadium.

Allman loved throwing in front of people in Tokyo this time, as opposed to the empty stadium of the 2021 Covid Olympics.

“I was really hoping that Tokyo could be the city where I became an Olympic Champion and a World champion,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s actually happened. I’m so grateful.”

“The energy of 50,000 people, their excitement, it felt nothing like the last Olympics. It was spectacular!”

“I wish I could just live it over and over again.”

In her magic city of Tokyo.

Question of the Day

Men's Shot Put

by Mark Cullen

“There’s your trivia question of the day,” I said to Track and Field News Editor, Sieg Lindstrom.

“When has an athlete won a World or Olympic title with a single-meet season?”

 Neither of us could come up with one – except for the history just made in front of us.

World record holder, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and now three-time World champion Ryan Crouser accomplished that feat in a shot put competition so dramatic it reminded many of the legendary 2019 Doha competition, when 2cm separated the top 3.

In his first meet of the season due to recovery from an elbow injury, Crouser allowed the field to nip at his heels through four rounds; he settled matters in the 5^th with his 22.34 (73-3½), and in the end, no one else broke 22.00 (72-2¼) meters.

To add to the excitement here in Tokyo, of the six finalists, 3 rose to get their best marks in the 5^th round while two got their best in the 6^th.

How close was it?

 New Zealand’s Tom Walsh had the third-best throw but finished 4^th.

Huh? For those of you new to the event, we do this all the time!

Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri and Walsh tied at 21.94 (71-11¾), but Fabbri was 3^rd on the countback with a better second throw, 21.83 (71-1½) - 21.58 (70-9 ¾).

Had Walsh been a centimeter farther on his last throw, he would have won bronze.

In the same ‘can you top this’ spirit of Doha, Mexico’s Uziel Munoz won the silver with a last-round personal best and national record of 21.97 (72-1).

Meanwhile, this outcome: Crouser – Munoz – Fabbri is so unlikely that anyone who called it should definitely invest in a lottery ticket.

“It’s never fun to open the season with the World Championships,” said Crouser in the post-meet stadium interview.

Except when that opener closes so well.

Ryan Crouser

photo: Mattia Ozbot for World Athletics