A world record is always something special , but some are more ”special” than others , either because they break some symbolic barriers and make history  ; either because they rise comments which are not always enthusiastic , for diverses reasons. This new discus record from Mykolas ALEKNA belongs to those who will make the ink and saliva run .It was indeed expected (and even announced) after the one from last year at the same spot with a 74.35m throw, beating the ”old” Jürgen SCHULT performance (74.08m 1986)  (74.08m 1986). It broke the symbolic 75m barrier and this will make history …but …it did also put the finger on a failure from the world athletics governing body to make sure that the conditions of the performances achieved are a warranty of their authenticity as it has been done for the sprint and jump events where the assistance of the wind is officially limited . The assistance of the wind in the discus throw follows different physics laws , but it is also evidence . IAAF has ignored the problem either by negligence or little interest in the throwing events, considered of second order, and left open a hole in the rules .

The problem is not about the record itself which can be accepted with wind or not , ( it’s just a record) but for the consequences concerning the achievement of credible qualifying performances for the major championships (Will discus throwers have to travel to Ramona to have a chance to perform a qualification mark ?)  , and not giving all throwers the same chances with the same legal conditions , or increasing the qualification standards to control the number of possible direct qualified participants.

Is it possible to determine an acceptable legal strength of wind assistance and control it during the discus competitions ? This is not as easy as it is in sprint when there is only the wind in direction of the race to measure . In the discus , the wind assistance can come from different directions and there are also right hand and left hand throwers who benefit from different opposite winds .

Difficult , may be , but not impossible with the modern technology . Anyways , something must be done and decisions made ,otherwise the discus throw will more or less become a sort of frisbee competition !

Note : Also refer to preceding chapters concerning Mykolas ALEKNA and the mechanics of the discus flight (Chapter Dsc 70)

Available documents : Visitors 1-PDF ALEKNA Mykolas 75.56m Photo sequence , the key postures  2-Vid 1 Original video 1  3-Vid 2 Original video 2   4-Vid 3 Original video 3 ….Note : original videos are copies from Facebook , Instagram or U tube

Members :  1-PDF Alekna Mykolas 75.56m technical analysis – comments – statistics  12 pages  2- ALEKNA Mykolas 75.56m video technical analysis (Slow mo – Freeze framing) 3- ALEKNA Mykolas technical analysis mobile photo sequence