Photo: Instagram.com
‘Throw Town’ in Oklahoma becomes the place for record-breaking discus throws
With big changes happening in track and field thanks to Grand Slam Track, field events are stepping into the spotlight.
One surprising standout is a quiet town in Oklahoma with fewer than 700 people called Ramona — now deemed as “Throw Town” or even “Throw-klahoma,” that attracts top athletes from all over the world.
Breaking records
April 13 was a historic day for the discus community in Romana as what seemed like just another tournament turned into one of the greatest record-breaking events ever.
Mykolas Alekna from Lithuania broke his own world record twice in just a day at the age of 22. His previous record was 74.35 meters, which he also set at the same event last year. In the first round, he gained a distance of 74.89 meters, which is a new world record. But, in the final round, he threw 75.56 meters–breaking his new world record again by 1.21 metres.
In a social media post by World Athletics, it shared, “HE’S DONE IT AGAIN…TWICE 😳… 🇱🇹’s @alekna.m obliterates his own discus world record twice at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational with a final throw of 75.56m* – 1.21m further than the mark he set at the same meet almost exactly a year ago 🤯”
Discus Throw fans shared their thoughts and commented on the post, with one of them saying, “Wind was crazy strong at the meet but still unbelievable to have someone over 75m considering how long it took for the old record to be broken! Discus 🥏 is on fire this year!!! 🔥🔥🔥”
Some also mentioned that Discus Throw is “definitely entering into a golden era,” and “breaking records.”
Moreover, Australia’s Matthew Denny threw 74.78 meters, a distance that would also beat the old world record.
For the first time in history, five male athletes threw the discus over 70 meters in the same event, such as British Lawrence Okoye, who successfully had a personal best of 70.76 meters and placed fifth. He broke his British record in 2012 before he played in the NFL.
The competition truly made history and made a name for the small town in the track and field world.
The reason behind record-breaking performances
One reason for this is the wind. Weather can make a huge difference, especially in track and field.
Discus is the sport that is most affected by the wind, with javelin close to second. A good tailwind can help the discus fly much farther. With this in mind, Millican Field in Ramona was designed with multiple throwing circles set up in different directions. Through these, athletes can throw from whichever gives them the best wind conditions on the event day.
Due to the field’s design, many of the world’s best discus athletes visit Ramona to have their personal bests or even gain world records. Throwers still have to time their throw and release the discus at the right angle to keep up with the wind. If they lost their timing even with a good tailwind, the throw wouldn’t go as far as they wanted.
Is taking advantage of the wind considered cheating?
Unlike sprinting and jumping events where there are wind rules, taking advantage of the wind in discus throw is completely legal. There are no wind limits in these events.
A tailwind (wind coming from behind) can push the discus down and make it go shorter. On the other hand, a headwind (wind blowing toward the thrower) can help the discus stay in the air longer if the throw is right.
Learning to throw with the wind is a skill that discus throwers must excel at.
