Mykolas Alekna, European Junior Champion: “Dad said he was confident” | sports



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The 18-year-old Lithuanian’s advantage over his rivals was enormous: German Magnus Zimmermann, who came in second, lost almost a meter and a half to ours. Even M. Alekna’s worst shot was better than any other opponent’s best shot.

“I really wanted to become champion, that’s one of the goals of the season. Really great fun. Isn’t it frustrating because of a scratched record? The most important thing is a gold medal, and those two inches would be the icing on the cake. It would be fun, but I can’t survive because of that, “said M. Alekna happy with the victory.

The restrained athlete expressed joyful emotions already after the first attempt, when he dropped the puck at 65.90 m. This result would have ensured a victory, but the Mantas Jusis student tried to get closer to the longest throw of his career: at the end of June, he flew the tool in Vilnius up to 69.77 m, achieving the second result in history. of the planet.

“I saw that the result of the first test was quite good, but I did not want to take risks and wait for the end. They wanted to improve that first launch so as not to have to look at the results of the others, said Alekna. – In the last launch I was already relaxed. , I knew that I had become a champion. The public supported him well, everyone applauded, everything came together and we managed to improve the result again “.

The discus thrower was the Lithuanian team’s last hope at the European Championship. All Lithuanians had finished their marches before the qualifying competition for this match. The expectations of those around him and his loved ones increased both the emotion and the pressure, but M. Alekna managed it perfectly.

“The excitement and pressure itself was felt before entering the stadium. When I got to the stadium, the excitement subsided and I enjoyed the moment there,” said the rising athletic star.

Before winning the title of European Junior Champion, two-time Olympic champion V. Alekna wished his son self-confidence.

Photo by Dokadro / Virgilijus Alekna and Mykolas Alekna

Photo by Dokadras / Virgilijus Alekna and Mykolas Alekna

“Before the championship, Dad said to quit as usual, not to try to change anything, to be confident and everything will work out. We managed to do that,” M. Alekna smiled.

The young discus thrower will be able to add to this year’s collection of awards: the World Junior Athletics Championships will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from August 17-22.



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