PARIS: Jamaica's Roje Stona won gold in the Olympic discus throw, upsetting World record holder Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania to claim his country's first-ever medal in the event at the Games.
Alekna, who had hoped to follow in his father's footsteps to become Olympic champion, had to settle for silver and Australian Matthew Denny claimed the bronze.
Alekna was favourite having thrown 74.35 metres in April to break the World record that had stood since 1986. Warming up with a first throw of 68.55, he then hurled the discus 69.97 to break the Olympic record his father Virgilijus Alekna had set 20 years ago.
That mark did not last long, though, as Stona responded with a throw of 70.00 metres, which Alekna failed to beat in his next two attempts.
For Jamaica, best known for its sprinters, it was the second throwing medal of the Paris Olympics after Rajindra Campbell won bronze in the shot put. Jamaica has had other field event success, with silver medals in the women's triple jump and men's long jump. Agencies
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