Easy day at the office for Alekna in Olympic discus qualifying

PARIS :Lithuania’s world record-holder Mykolas Alekna showed he is the man to beat in the men’s discus at the Paris Olympics after his leading throw in Monday’s preliminary round.
The 21-year-old fouled on his first effort then stepped into the circle to throw 67.47 metres on his second before calling it a day with his spot in the final locked up.
“I am confident with my throws, so I knew how to prepare and what to do before I came here. I knew I could do a good throw,” said Alekna, a world silver and bronze medallist. “I did not think about the first one too much, and I am happy for the second one.
“This circle is perfect. I expect long throws.”
In April, Alekna stunned the global throwing world when he shattered a world record that had stood for the better part of four decades, hurling the discus 74.35 metres at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational.
It beat German Jurgen Schult’s effort of 74.08 set in 1986 – which had been the longest-standing record in athletics.
“To win the final, maybe somebody needs to break the world record. I will do everything I can to get it,” said Alekna, whose coach is his father Virgilijus Alekna, a two-times Olympic and world discus thrower.
Matthew Denny of Australia threw 66.83 metres for the second-best qualifying throw of the morning at Stade de France, while Austrian Lukas Weibhaidinger was third (66.72).
The final is on Wednesday evening.