Stahl leaves it late to win discus gold in delayed final
TOKYO :Former Olympic champion Daniel Stahl of Sweden won the last gold medal of the 2025 World Athletics Championships on Sunday with the penultimate throw of a men's discus final delayed for more than two hours by rain.
World record holder Mykolas Alekna managed the only legal throw before the heavens opened at the National Stadium and the athletes were removed from the arena for safety reasons.
They returned after all the other events and the official closing ceremony had been completed, an army of volunteers wiping down the throwing circle with towels between attempts as the rain persisted.
"I have trained for many years in the rain and know that it usually rains in Tokyo in September-October," Stahl told Swedish broadcaster SVT Sport.
"It's important to keep the focus because there can be delays and it can take a few hours."
ALEKNA LAYS DOWN MARKER
Lithuanian Alekna laid down a marker with a throw of 67.84m on his second attempt which led the final until Stahl took to the circle for his last shot at the title.
Revving up the remaining crowd at the arena where he won the Olympic title in 2021, the 33-year-old sent the disc soaring in to the sky and past the 70-metre line for his season's best throw of 70.47m and a third world title.
"Mentally, I was ready for the last throw. I prepared myself for it," Stahl said.
"This is my favourite arena of all time. It was special in 2021, and it has been special again tonight."
Alekna, 22, fouled his last attempt and finished second to add to his bronze at the last world championships and silver in 2022 but remained without a title to match the two his father Virgilijus won in discus in 2003 and 2005.
"Having the men's discus throw as the last event of the championships, I don't think it ever happened before," Alekna said.
"At first, after the competition finished, I was a little disappointed. But I know I did everything I could to fight for the gold."
Alex Rose took bronze with a throw of 66.96m on his fifth attempt to knock Australia's Matt Denny out of third place and give Samoa a first world championship medal.
"This is one of the greatest moments of my entire life and it's been 20 years in the making," Rose said.
"To come back here and do what I just did, there is no feeling like it. The young Pacific Island athletes never give up. I work a full-time job and took time off to from my company to compete here."
