Slovenian discus thrower Kristjan Čech has set a new world record for the season in a controversial arena where he has previously shown extremely high results.
The discus throw competition took place in Oklahoma, where the local sports club is located in an open area, which means that the wind plays a significant role during the competition. Its significant gusts can significantly improve the result.
During the competition, Čech was ahead of all his rivals by more than ten meters. The Slovenian threw the season's world record of 72.26 meters on his first attempt. In subsequent throws, Čech did not improve his result, reaching 72 meters only once. Instead, the silver medalist was Briton Nick Percy with a throw of 63.84 m.
According to World Athletics rules, there are no restrictions on the impact of wind on athletes' results in throwing events. However, the competition in Oklahoma at this sports club was proposed to be banned by experts from Nordic countries due to “natural doping”. However, there are currently no restrictions, so Cech's 72.26 meters will count.
In addition, in the same arena, Lithuanian track and field athlete Mykolas Alekna updated the world record in discus throwing, which remains valid — throwing 75.56 m within the bronze category of the Continental Tour in Oklahoma in April 2025. It is being questioned due to natural factors that could have affected the final result.
The season's world record was previously held by Australian Matthew Denny, who set it a month earlier with a throw of 68.74 meters. In addition, Cech was only 10 centimeters short of repeating the national record of 72.36 meters, which he holds. The athlete set it in May 2025 in Bistrica, Slovenia.
“I am very happy with the result, 72.26 meters and the third day of training. Now it's time to regenerate and prepare for the main program,” Cech wrote on his Instagram.
Cech is currently ranked third in the world, behind Alekna. The Slovenian has competed in just one event this season, in Oklahoma, where he won gold with a throw of 68.76 meters.
The Slovenian discus thrower is the 2022 world champion and won the 2024 European Championship. In addition, the Czech is the silver medalist at the 2023 World Championships and the winner of the 2022 Diamond League final.