The three longest throws in Olympic history marked a momentous competition won by Hungary’s Robert Fazekas ** see note below - in an Olympic record of 70.93. In silver, was reigning Olympic and World champion Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania who did his best to harry the eventual gold medallist, while the bronze was also secured by Hungary, thanks to Zoltan Kovago.

You can’t argue with the quality of any competition which begins with Olympic records in the first two rounds, and tonight’s final had the added significance of the first ever 70m plus throw in Olympic discus throwing history.

The pre-event billing was for this final to be a two-man duel between Fazekas and Alekna and it played out exactly to that script.

Firstly the reigning champion, throwing last of the twelve finalists, opened with a mighty 69.89m, an Olympic record by 49cm.

Alekna, 32, had immediately placed his usual first round stamp on this competition and it was simply a matter of whether Hungary’s European champion could respond with an even higher gambit.

The 29 year-old wasted no time in answering this question, as having begun with a respectable 66.39 in round one, with his next attempt he responded with 70.93 which not only improved that short lived Olympic best but must have cut a deep groove in the Lithuania’s confidence.

There have only ever been thirty-five 70m plus competitions in the entire history of the event and significantly neither the Olympic, World or European titles have ever been won at a distance greater than 69 metres.

The magnitude of the task that he now faced seemed to dawn on Alekna, who on his next turn spun his implement into the gate of the throwing cage, and fouls were to follow in the third and fourth rounds too.

Meanwhile, Fazekas was compiling a consistent series based on the confidence of a man who knew he had thrown the killer punch. 69.35 and 68.92 were his third and fourth efforts.

By this stage the Hungarian – thanks to leading at the midway stage - was now throwing last in the competition immediately after Alekna, who with his fifth round effort raised the faint possibility of a gold medal challenge with an encouraging 69.49 release. Prior to the start of tonight’s competition this would have been an Olympic record!

However, the expression on the Lithuanian’s face as he exited the cage told a different story. He could hardly conceal his disappointment, even perhaps his despair that, even with all his energy engaged he could not approach the lead. Alekna had played his last hand.

Fazekas for his part replied in the fifth with 67.64, and when in the following round Alekna fouled out his last effort, he passed on his own sixth attempt, as the gold was of course already sealed.

There was further joy for Hungary as Zoltan Kovago, the 2001 European Under-23 champion, who incidentally beat Fazekas to the Hungarian national crown this summer, grabbed the bronze with a fourth round 67.04.

Notably, the final mirrored yesterday’s Hammer final in so many ways. Not just that the gold went to Hungary but in the consistency of the high level series produced by the winner, the unsuccessful game of catch-up played by the silver medallist, and in turn the runners-up own pre-eminence over the bronze medal winner.

”I‘ve studied Alekna a lot and I know that he usually has his longest throw on his first attempt,” confirmed Fazekas. “I, on the other hand, always start with a safety throw. After my second round throw I knew for sure he would not be able to catch me.”

”This victory is the result of four years hard work. Our coach and my friend Adrian Annus have been dreaming about this all our lives….Annus won yesterday and set the high standard.”

On a personal level the connections between the two Hungarian gold medallists are also strong. Adrian Annus, last night’s Hammer champion shares the same coach, Jozsef Vida, with Fazekas. Tonight’s winner also has his own pedigree as a Hammer thrower with a 75.33 personal best.

There was one tinge of sadness as the competition reached it’s midway point as Germany’s 1996 Olympic champion and five-time World gold medallist, Lars Riedel sustained an upper thigh injury on his third attempt, and though qualified for the final three throws, as the eighth best thrower (62.80) played no further part in the final.

CT

NOTE. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on 24 August that Robert Fazekas, 29, refused to provide a complete urine sample after the men's Discus Final where he placed first, and accordingly is not awarded a gold medal or diploma.

Accordingly, Alekna takes the gold medal, Kovago, the silver, and Estonia's Aleksander Tammert (66.66m - Estonia), the bronze.

We must first address the present day fundamentals of the men’s Discus Throw. As an Olympic gold medal competition in 2004 it is an event which barring disasters, only concerns two competitors, the reigning Olympic champion Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania and Hungary’s European gold medalist Robert Fazekas.

The ability of the rest of the world’s elite has not gone backwards, simply Alekna and Fazekas have again taken the discipline into 70m territory this summer, and have a consistency over 68 metres which no one else can approach.

The Hungarian throwing in the second of two pools this morning was the best overall qualifier for Monday's final with 68.10, while his Lithuanian rival, throwing in the first group was next furthest (67.79). These were two of only three automatic qualifiers (64.50 or better) that this preliminary round could produce.

Notably, Alekna became the first 2000 Olympic throwing champion to progress into a final in Athens. The 32 year-old who is also the 2003 World gold medallist, did what Sydney winners Arsi Harju (Shot – injured prior to Games), Szymon Ziolkowski (men’s Hammer) and Ellina Zvereva (women’s Discus) had not been able to do in their events in Athens.

While Alekna needed all three of his throws to obtain the automatic qualification, Estonian Aleksander Tammert took his guaranteed spot in the final with a simple first round release of 65.70.

Alekna and Fazekas are the number one and two in the event in the IAAF World Rankings, and third placer on that table Lars Riedel of Germany, the former five times World champion, was the next best thrower this morning after the three automatics.

“Mr. Discus” the 1996 Olympic champion and 2000 silver medallist threw 64.20 to proceed to Monday’s final (23 Aug) and at the age of 37 might still grab yet another medal.

African record holder Frantz Kruger who had taken the bronze in 2000 behind Alekna and Riedel, also qualified with 62.32 but the surprise South African package was NCAA winner Hannes Hopley (63.89).

Hungary will have a full trio in the final with Gabor Mate (63.41) and Zoltan Kovago (61.92) joining Fazekas.

The other qualifiers for the twelve man conclusion to this discipline were Germany’s Torsten Schmidt (63.40) and Malina Libor (62.12) of the Czech Republic from Group A, and USA’s Casey Malone (63.27), and Kaptyukh of Belarus (63.04) from the final pool.