citiusmag.com journalist Paulius Hof-Mahoney met the Lithuanian discus thrower M. Alekna when he was still in California before leaving for Europe, where he will compete in the European Championship in Rome in early June and defend his Old Continent discus throw champion title.
M. Alekna remembered his historic and record-breaking day in Oklahoma, talked about his childhood and revealed that the word “pressure” is simply not in his vocabulary.
– You are now 21 years old and you just broke the oldest world record in men’s athletics. How do you feel after doing it?
– It’s great. If someone had told me five or six years ago that I would break the world record, I wouldn’t have believed it. But now it’s the same and I can say – it’s wonderful.
My consistent and disciplined work and a good team with the coaches paid off handsomely. I am very happy that I can call myself a world record holder.
– You set a world record at Ramona Stadium, Oklahoma. This is a city that has gained notoriety as the capital of long discus throw in the last two years. What made you and the coaches decide to go to Ramona and compete there?
– Before this season, I didn’t plan to go to Ramona, but the training went quite well and basically my shots were really far.
I thought maybe I should go there and try my luck. So me and my coach just decided to go out there and have a good time, challenge ourselves and maybe shoot one long shot.
It happened – I’m really happy about it.
– A week before the record, you threw the discus in Berkeley at 71.39m. When you came to Ramona, did you set out to go for a world record, or were you just trying to throw with no expectations?
– I knew that in good weather conditions I could achieve the world record. But that was never my goal. Honestly, I didn’t feel any pressure, I just tried to enjoy the competition.
I know from my experience that if you try to do something by forcing yourself, don’t expect anything good. When there’s more pressure, you usually don’t do as well as you’d like.
So, I never aimed for a world record, but I knew I could do it.
– M. Alekna is now a world record holder. You know, with a historic pitch and a favorable wind, it makes you think it could have been unfavorable. How did you handle that windy situation? Was there any preparation for this?
– I arrived in Ramona the night before the competition, so I had not seen the stadium. However, I have talked to some people who have told me that this is a good place to throw a disc far.
The conditions were good, the sector and the resistance zone were really neat. I was in that stadium for the first time, so I couldn’t prepare for “something”.
– During the competition in Ramona, after the first throw, you left the sector shaking your head. Although the disc flew far – 72.21 m. What was wrong with that shot: didn’t you feel that the tool went far or did you expect it to land at the 74 meter mark?
– Yes, it really was. That first throw of mine wasn’t the best, but I didn’t think the disc would fall that far.
I was a little disappointed, but after the results of the throw, I realized that “I can throw really, really far today and it’s only a matter of time before that farthest attempt”.
– In the fifth throw, I managed to improve the world record. Did you get the feeling when you put the disc out of your hands that this is exactly the attempt when the world record will be born?
– Yes. I figured if it wasn’t for the wind, this shot would be worth somewhere around 71 yards. I have thrown the discus over 70m during training and I know what it feels like.
If there was no wind then, the disc would fly maybe 71 meters. But the wind was great, so I knew in my mind that he would probably fly at 74 meters. That throw was really nice, smooth, light and long – I knew it was good.
– Shot putter Ryan Crouser, who holds the planet record in his career, also watched the competition. How did it feel to get that result against someone who knows what it means?
“That was great.” I did not expect Ryan to come to this competition, but I was very excited.
I saw him when I threw the discus, and he filmed my shots on camera. I saw him watching me and making videos every time I threw.
– You achieved not only a world record, but a family record, taking over the baton of the farthest throw from your father Virgilius. What was his reaction?
– When I broke the world record, it was late in the evening in Lithuania. He saw the result, but after that he probably went to sleep. That’s why I didn’t call him at night.
I called him and my mom the next morning and they were really, really excited. My dad, of course, congratulated me. And he said he was proud.
My parents have always supported me since my early days of training and I am truly blessed to have such parents.
– Your dad is one of the world’s best discus throwers in history – have you ever felt pressured by your ‘Alekna’ surname. Didn’t the last name get in the way during the competition?
– No. To be honest, I never thought about it. I only throw the discus because I like it, not because my dad wants me to. It’s my choice and I chose to do it.
I’ve heard people say, “oh, your dad’s a great discus thrower,” and they’re trying to put pressure on me.
But it’s the same for me, in which way they press me. I just try to enjoy it when I play the disc, because it’s what I like to do. I often don’t care how I do because I enjoy the process.
– Do you have a favorite childhood memory of your father from his performances at the world championships or the Olympic Games? Maybe you have an important moment stuck?
– To be honest, I was never in serious competition with my dad – I always stayed at home. My dad always wanted to go to competitions alone, without his family, so he could focus on the fights.
That’s why I always watched the matches on TV. But I remember watching the London Olympics in 2012, I was 10 years old then, so I remember those fights really well.
He finished fourth, and I was really disappointed at the time, but now I realize that he was already 40 years old then.
He is one of the best discus throwers of all time and that fourth place at the age of 40 with a throw of 67 meters is a very impressive result.
I hope that at his age I can throw the discus 67 meters.
– Alekna is not only a father, but also your brother Martynas. He had a good year last year, throwing the discus 67 meters. As far as I know, Martyn is a couple of years older than you. Is there any rivalry between you guys?
– There was competition. But we get along really well. When I come home, we always train together. My brother started discus two years before me and I joined two years later.
From then on, we always trained together every day. We get along really well.
Of course, there is some competition to beat each other, but I think that’s really good.
It helps us both improve. I am glad that I have a brother, that we both throw the discus and we can support each other in competitions.
We both went to the World Cup last year and it was a great experience.
– You had a really good career in youth competitions, when you became the world champion in the 20s in 2021. What made you decide to move to the NCAA and come to America?
– I decided that I want to go to the USA even before I dropped 69 and before I became the European and World U 20 champion. I didn’t think I would be able to adapt so well to the NCAA, but the progress was obvious.
Even after winning a medal at the world championships, I still wanted to come to the United States – I wanted to go to college, get a diploma. My parents supported the decision to go to the US because education is an important factor for my family.
– What does the training week of one of the world’s best discus throwers look like?
– I train in the morning and evening on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I play CD four days a week. So I train eight times a week and four days a week.
– You and your coaches have an interesting philosophy in the gym – it’s the opposite of aces like Daniel Stahl and Kristjan Čech. They lift a lot of heavy weights and your trainers pay little attention to it. What is the essence of this training philosophy?
– I think it all depends on the thrower and the body, because we are all different. Some people like to lift weights, but since I started working out, I’ve never tried to lift them hard.
I just pay more attention to speed, technique and coach Mantas Jusis noticed it.
When he gives me workouts, he means that all my muscles are ready for those workouts. My coach in America, Mo Saatara, has the same philosophy and training.
– What are you studying at Berkeley?
– Psychology.
– Now you are already a world record holder. What specific technical aspects of your throwing are you working on to compete at world championships or the Olympics?
– The things we work on may seem very simple. We don’t really think with the coaches, “oh, your leg should be at a 40 or 50 degree angle, and it’s not.” We do not delve into it with specialists. We focus more on the feel of the throw.
I try to stay relaxed for a long time after the shot, not to jump during my shot and to be patient.
– What will you do with the pressure that will become more and more evident as the Olympics approaches?
– I don’t feel any pressure… I say honestly. As I have taught before, I do what I love. I love sports and I know that I have many years of this activity ahead of me because I am still young.
I don’t think we will talk about pressure with the coaches in the future – it’s not a problem for me at all.
– What was your favorite and most memorable competition?
“Oh, that’s a good question.” I would say the Stockholm “Diamond League” competition. I have been there twice and the atmosphere was amazing both times, the stadium was full.
I love that stadium in Stockholm, it’s old and I enjoy competing there.
The discus is popular in Sweden thanks to the achievements of Daniel Stahl and Simon Pettersson.
“You’re going back to Stockholm this summer, right?”
– Yes.
– What will your international schedule look like before the Paris Olympics and without fighting in Stockholm?
– My next competition in the “Diamond League” will be on May 19 in Morocco. After that I will go home to Lithuania and train for a few weeks.
Then I go to the Diamond League in Oslo, then to Stockholm, and in June I will participate in the European Championship.
They will be followed by the national championship and the Olympic Games.
