Mantas Jusis on Alekna's silver medal: 'It's already a trend'

Discus thrower Mykolas Alekna secured a silver medal at the European Championships, setting a new championship record with his first throw of 69.89 meters. However, his record was short-lived as Slovenia's Kristjan Čeh launched a massive 70.83 meters, later extending it to an astonishing 72.51 meters on his third attempt.

Alekna was unable to match Čeh's performance in his subsequent throws, leading to his second-place finish. Coach Mantas Jusis expressed concern over what he termed a "tendency" for Alekna to falter when challenged by rivals in major competitions. He recalled similar instances at the Olympics and previous championships where Alekna couldn't deliver a winning response in the final moments.

"You don't want to, but it's already a trend," Jusis told Delfi. "At the Olympics, we had to respond to the Jamaican, but we couldn't, even though Mykolas still had 2-3 attempts. In Tokyo, gold slipped away at the last moment, D. Stahl snatched the victory. Now here again, Mykolas had 3 throws, but in the remaining attempts, not a single good throw was made, not even 80% of what could be called a good throw."

Despite the disappointment, Jusis acknowledged the silver medal, noting that Alekna is the only discus thrower to have won medals annually since 2022. He pointed out that key competitors like Čeh and Daniel Ståhl were not always present or successful in all events. However, the primary focus for both Alekna and his coach is to overcome this psychological hurdle and achieve first-place victories in future major events, including upcoming competitions and the 2025 World Championships.