Matt Denny broke the discus world record only to have his rival better the mark at the same event

Olympian Matt Denny is doing things he’s never done before but a world record discus throw only moved his main rival to go even further.

Olympian Matt Denny smashed his personal best for the third time in a week and set a new discus world record only to have his main rival launch the discus even further as their rivalry intensified.

Competing at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational on Sunday, at a venue with favourable tailwinds, Denny, an Olympic bronze medallist, hurled the disc a mammoth 74.78m.

Matthew Denny was a world record holder for a moment. Picture: Casey Sims/Australian Athletics

That passed the mark of 74.35m set by Lithuanian powerhouse Mykolas Alekna at the same event last year, a throw which broke a world record which stood since 1986.

But Queenslander Denny didn’t have long to revel in his own stunning achievement as 22-year-old Alekna, an Olympic silver medallists, pulled out two more monster throws.

He passed Denny with a throw of 74.89m first-up, then pushed the world record out even further by throwing 75.56m in the fourth round.

HE’S DONE IT AGAIN…TWICE 😳

🇱🇹's Mykolas Alekna smashes his own discus world record twice at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational with a final throw of 75.56m 🔥

🇦🇺's Matt Denny takes 2nd with 74.78m — a mark that would’ve broken the previous WR 👀#ContinentalTourpic.twitter.com/iX0VXqfvXY

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) April 13, 2025

Denny had chosen to compete in the event in the US instead of the Australian championships in Perth, with justified results.

Last week he became the first Australian to crash through the 70-metre barrier and continued to improve his personal best throws and he now looms as one of Australia’s leading gold-medal hopes at September’s world titles in Tokyo.

Originally published as Matt Denny broke the discus world record only to have his rival better the mark at the same event