ESPOO, Finland – The qualifying standard at the European U23 Championships was no match for California track & field star Mykolas Alekna, who will compete in Saturday's men's discus final after leading both groups in the qualifying round Thursday. After slipping on his first attempt, the 20-year-old Lithuanian surpassed the needed 58.50m (191-11) barrier with a mark of 61.42m (201-6) to earn the big Q next to his name in the standings.
 
"The goal was to throw over the qualification mark, and I managed," Alekna said. "I just missed a bit of sleep in the morning, but everything is there. It was OK; it happens sometimes."
 
Now, the main goal for Alekna is to outpace the field once again in Saturday's final, which will begin at 12:50 a.m. PT at Espoo's Leppävara Stadium.
 
European U23 Championships Men's Discus Final (Qualifying Marks Notated)

1. Mykolas Alekna, 61.42m/201-6 (Lithuania, Q)
2. Yasiel Sotero, 59.85m/196-4 (Spain, Q)
3. Steven Richter, 59.52m/195-3 (Germany, Q)
4. Marius Karges, 59.32m/194-7 (Germany, Q)
5. Enes Cankaya, 56.04m/183-10 (Turkey, q)
6. Carmelo Alessandro Musci, 55.13m/180-10 (Italy, q)
7. Marcos Moreno, 54.67m/179-4 (Spain, q)
8. Antti Pränni, 54.01m/177-2 (Finland, q)
9. Sebastiaan Bonte, 53.67m/176-1 (Netherlands, q)
10. Rami Kankaanpää, 53.48m/175-5 (Finland, q)
11. Konstantinos Bouzakis, 53.44m/175-4 (Greece, q)
12. Marc-Alexandre Delin, 53.14m/174-4 (France, q)

 
 
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal track & field, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalTFXC), Instagram (@caltfxc) and Facebook (@Cal Cross Country/Track and Field).