Monte-Carlo - In the second part of their eight peice review of the highlights of the 2007 Athletics year, A. Lennart Julin and Mirko Jalava survey the THROWS.
Discus Throw

2007 was the year that will go down in the history of the Discus Throw as that when Virgilijus Alekna was dethroned. But it remains to be seen whether this really was permanent changing of the guard or just the passing consequence of an injury untimely sustained in the final preparations for Osaka.

Because before the injury the 2007 Alekna had been just as strong as ever (or perhaps even stronger than ever?): 13 straight wins with 69.48 the almost incredible average distance. Then after the injury he averaged 65.16 in his four meets, so the cause was certainly very obvious.

But at the same time it must be stated that the athlete that claimed the Discus throne – Estonian Gerd Kanter – is a thrower of extraordinary capacity in his own right. This summer he averaged 68.30 for his 24 competitions, so for Alekna to be capable of reclaiming the No 1 position he will absolutely need to rediscover his very best form.


Behind the undisputed top-2 this year brought a clear indication of a younger generation making itself more prominent in an event that probably is the one where experience is most significant. Leading that "charge" is Germany's Robert Harting (age 22) the surprise silver medallist in Osaka. Harting is closely followed by athletes like Egypt's Omar El Ghazaly (age 23, No 6 in Osaka), Iran's Ehsan Hadadi (age 22, No 7 in Osaka) and Poland's Piotr Malachowski (age 24, No 12 in Osaka).

But of course the real super prodigy of Discus Throwing is Ukraine's Mykyta Nesterenko who at the youthful age of 16 (but at the adult height of 2.02) got into the top-50 of the 2007 World list for seniors thanks to his incredible 62.79 with the 2 kg implement.

Read more 2007 - End of Year Reviews - THROWS from iaaf.org