Andrius Gudzius of Lithuania, the discus winner at the IAAF World Championships London 2017 (© Getty Images)
Much like it has been on the circuit all year, the men’s discus looks an open affair at the IAAF Continental Cup Ostrava 2018.
Perhaps it’s best to start with the European duo, who should launch a strong bid to earn maximum points for their team. Lithuania’s Andrius Gudzius, the world and European champion, should prove a formidable force, having broken new ground with a PB of 69.59m earlier this season. More recently he finished runner-up at the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels, throwing 67.56m.
Sweden’s Daniel Stahl has also been beyond 69 metres this year, launching a PB and world lead of 69.72m to win his national title in Eskiltuna in recent weeks.
The Americas team is led by Jamaica’s Fedrick Dacres, who threw a whopping national record of 69.67m at the Stockholm IAAF Diamond League meeting back in June and last month threw 68.47m to win the North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships in Toronto. More recently he took the IAAF Diamond League title with a throw of 68.67m in Brussels. He will be backed up by Reggie Jagers of USA.
The Asia-Pacific challenge is led by Ehsan Hadadi, the Iranian arriving off the back of victory at the Asian Games in Jakarta, where he threw 65.71m, slightly down on his best of 68.85m this year. He will be joined by Australia’s Matthew Denny, who has a best of 64.67m this year.
Africa will be represented by Victor Hogan of South Africa, who took the African title with 60.06m last month, and Elbachir Mbarki of Morocco.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF
