Cal Alum Mykolas Alekna Settles For Silver Medal at World Track

Former Cal star Mykolas Alekna has set the world record in the discus three times over the past two seasons but he still is waiting to climb to the top step on the podium at a major championship.

The 22-year-old Lithuanian settled for a silver medal at the World Championships on a rainy Sunday night in Tokyo, his third non-winning podium finish at the Worlds on the heels of winning silver at the Paris Olympics last summer.

Meanwhile, one-time Cal middle-distance runner Georgia Hunter Bell, the 31-year-old bronze medalist at 1,500 meters in Paris, dropped down to the 800 and claimed her own silver with a lifetime-best performance.

That made it three medals at this meet for ex-Golden Bears, following Camryn Rogers’ gold in the women’s hammer throw last week.

The discus was subject to a two-hour rain delay after Australia’s Matthew Denny slipped and collapsed in the ring after his first-round attempt.

Alekna immediately took the lead when competition resumed, with a second-round throw of 222 feet, 7 inches (67.84 meters). His most recent world record, set in April at Oklahoma, is 25 feet beyond that at 247-11 (75.56).

Alekna topped 70 meters in six different meets this season.

But in poor conditions the competition’s heavy favorite could not improve on his mark over his next four throws, two of them fouls.

Sweden’s Daniel Stahl, 31, unleashed the winning throw of 231-2 (70.47) in the final round to capture his third world title to go with the Olympic gold he claimed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

“This is my favorite arena of all time,” Stahl said. “It was special in 2021, and it has been special again tonight.”

Alekna won silver at the as a 19-year-old at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Ore., and took home a bronze medal a year later at the same meet in Budapest. At Cal, Alekna was a two-time runner-up and once a third-place finisher at the NCAA Championships, despite being the collegiate recordholder.

He had beaten Stahl 14 straight times over the past two seasons, but he had nothing but praise for his rival on Sunday night.

“At first, after the competition finished, I was a little disappointed,” Alekna said. “But I know I did everything I could to fight for the gold.

“Daniel is an amazing guy. I cannot be mad at him. He's an absolute legend and I'm really thankful for this opportunity to share the field with him. I hope the day comes when I beat Daniel at a major competition.”

Alex Rose, 33, captured bronze at 219-8 (66.96) to secure Samoa’s first-ever medal at the World Championships.

Georgia Hunter Bell | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Hunter Bell, whose time at Cal a decade ago was marked by injury, finished second in the 800 with a personal-best mark of 1:54.90 that lifts her to ninth place on the all-time world list. It was the second-fastest non-winning time ever and enough to edge countrywoman and reigning Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson by 1/100th of a second.

“I am very proud with my performance tonight,” Hunter Bell said before sharing credit with her training partner and their coaches. “That's how we get to be the fastest in the world. We push each other. You don't want to be alone in training. You need people better than you… I am so happy it's all come together.”

Kenya’s Lilian Odira, not considered among the favorites, came from behind over the final 100 meters to win gold in 1:54.62, her best by two seconds. Kenya’s’ women won every event from 800 meters through the marathon.

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