BERKELEY — Mykolas Alekna has pretty much exceeded all expectations since arriving at Cal as the son of a former two-time Olympic discus champion.
On Friday in Eugene, Oregon, in his final competition representing the Golden Bears, the world record-holder in the event will attempt to accomplish virtually the only thing that somehow has eluded him — winning an NCAA title.
“I need to win NCAAs for the first time, finally,” Alekna said. “I need to win for the school. What the school gave to me, I need to give it back.”
Alekna’s achievements over the past four years have elevated him to international stardom in track and field. Here are some of the 22-year-old Lithuanian’s top resume items:
— Broke the NCAA record in the discus as a freshman in 2022 and now owns the top 10 spots on the all-time collegiate list
— Captured a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene at the age of 19 and a month later became the youngest-ever winner at the European Championships
— Won his second straight Pac-12 title in 2023 before claiming a silver medal at the World Championships n Budapest
— Competing unattached in 2024 while preparing for the Paris Olympics, Alekna broke the nearly 38-year-old world record held by East Germany’s Jurgen Schult when he tossed the discus 243 feet, 11 inches (74.35 meters) at a meet in Ramona, Oklahoma
— At the Paris Games, still just 21, Alekna broke his father Virgilijus Alekna’s Olympic record before settling for the silver medal when underdog Roje Stona of Jamaica beat him by 1 inch
— On April 12 of this year, Alekna returned to Oklahoma, with its beneficial but legal winds, and broke his own world record with a throw of 245-8 (74.89m)
“Amazing,” Alekna said afterward. “I think I can throw ever farther.”
Because he was competing while representing Cal, Alekna became the first Bay Area track and field athlete to set a world record while in school since legendary Tommie Smith of San Jose State eclipsed the standard in the 200-meter dash at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
The discus, by comparison, is traditionally the domain of older athletes. At just 20 in 2023, Alekna became the youngest to ever throw 70 meters.
His father, who remains No. 4 on the all-time world list, was 28 when he first reached 70 meters. So by any measure, Mykolas is a discus prodigy. He won’t turn 23 until Sept. 28, the week after the World Championships in Tokyo.
Mykolas Alekna, of Lithuania, competes during the women's pole vault final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)Having earned his Cal degree this spring, Alekna will move his training base back home to Lithuania after this season, returning occasionally to consult with Cal throws coach Mo Saatara.
“With his age and his development,” Saatara said, “as long as he stays healthy and keeps working as he’s working, the sky’s the limit.”
Alekna is grateful for his time in Berkeley and said his 2024 season allowed him to grow.
“It was the first year where everyone was looking at me as the No. 1 guy. So the pressure was there. It was definitely something new to me,” he said. “I still think it’s a great year even though I didn’t win the Olympic gold medal.”
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Still, to finish his college career on a high note, Alekna has to deliver Friday at Oregon’s Hayward Field. His chief competition figures to come from Oklahoma’s Ralford Mullings, whose best of 226-10 (69.13 meters) puts him second to Alekna on the all-time collegiate list.
“The NCAA championship hasn’t been friendly to him,” said Saatara, referencing Alekna’s runner-up performance as a freshman and his third-place finish in 2023. “I think the first year . . . everybody has a freshman moment. And (in 2023) in Texas, the heat got to him a bit, messed with him a bit.”
But Saatara is confident Alekna will prevail this time. “He really wants to do that. It’s in Eugene and he really loves throwing there.”
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