The men’s discus is shaping up to be one of the standout events of the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham with five of the top eight European men's discus throwers of all-time taking to the circle.
Reading through the start list is like listing off The Avengers, with medals, titles, and records scattered all down the list, including world record-holder Mykolas Alekna who only just returned from a torn pectoral muscle which required surgery.
European record - Mykolas Alekna (LTU), 75.56m
European lead - Steven Richter (GER), 74.00m
Championship record - Mykolas Alekna (LTU), 69.78m
Roma 2024 medallists:
- Kristjan Ceh (SLO), 68.08m
- Lukas Weisshaidinger (AUT), 67.70m
- Mykolas Alekna (LTU), 67.48m
Five names to watch:
- Mykolas Alekna (LTU)
- Kristjan Ceh (SLO)
- Daniel Stahl (SWE)
- Henrik Janssen (GER)
- Lawrence Okoye (GBR)
For the past four editions of these championships, a new title-holder has been crowned despite many of the same giants making the final and even several podiums, but will that tradition continue in Birmingham?
This event is a particularly hard one to predict, as many of the athletes’ season’s bests were thrown in April in Ramona, a place where there are ideal wind conditions for discus throw, if you know how to use them.
Germany’s Steven Richter leads the field with a season’s best of 74.00m, while his non-Ramona best sits at 67.44m, with the reigning European U23 champion having thrown over 66m outside of Ramona a total of five times this year.
While Alekna, who missed his annual Ramona outing due to injury, has thrown 70.60m, 71.06m, and 72.65m this year, a scary trio of measurements considering he fully tore his pectoral muscle in March, an injury which required surgery.
Alekna’s form also suggests that it could take a 70 metres plus throw to take gold, which only two athletes have thrown outside of Ramona this year, Alekna himself and the reigning champion Kristjan Ceh.
After throwing 72.61m in Ramona, Ceh went on to prove he can almost match that mark in a stadium by throwing over 70 metres three times across the rest of the season, including 71.86m at the Slovenian Championships in June.
If he were to take the title, Ceh would become just the third man to win back-to-back titles in the event, made even more impressive by the level of his challengers.
But there is one man who has won everything except a European Athletics Championships title and that is three-time world champion and 2021 Olympic champion, Daniel Ståhl.
The Swede’s best finish was in 2018 when he placed second, however in 2016 he was fifth, in 2022 he was fifth and in 2024 he was fourth, enough near misses to justify much needed villainous vengeance.
Stahl is also another athlete who did not compete in Ramona this year, and yet he still has a season’s best of 69.85m from the Swedish Championships, so is most certainly a potential gold medal contender.
But the list of medal contenders does not end there as Great Britain’s Lawrence Okoye is another name that could be in the medals.
Not only did he win bronze in 2022, he also threw 68.81m at the British Championships earlier this year at the Alexander Stadium, where these championships will be held.
Germany’s Henrik Janssen has also had a consistent season with six throws over 67 metres this year, with a best of 68.54m, none of which were thrown in Ramona.
Two more of Germany’s seemingly endless list of top discus throwers will be in Birmingham as Mika Sonsa and Marius Karges, who placed second and third at the Bergen 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships, also join the field.
Lithuania also field a strong team with Martynas Alekna, Mykolas’ older brother and Andrius Gudzius, a former world and European champion, completing the country’s trio.
Gudzius has thrown 67.73m this year, his best throw since 2022, so could even be another shout for a medal
With 11 athletes having thrown beyond 67 metres this season, making the final alone will be a challenging feat let alone the battle for the podium.