Daniel Ståhl lost the big meeting against the superb Kristian Ceh at home.
But afterwards he gave an important announcement before the Olympics.
– I feel on track, he says.
The world elite in the discus was to collide in Sollentuna outside Stockholm on Sunday, and in advance there were many who were excited about a duel between the discus’s three greatest. Mykolas Alekna broke a new world record earlier this year, and Kristian Ceh and Daniel Ståhl have taken turns winning major competitions in recent years.
Sloppy start
However, Alekna was forced to withdraw late, but there was still a duel between the newly crowned European champion Kristian Ceh and the Swedish sovereign Daniel Ståhl, who has an Olympic gold medal to defend later this summer, that awaited. But it wasn’t the start that anyone had hoped for.
Daniel Ståhl started the competition with two straight crosses, i.e. two invalid throws, but he lost nothing to his rival Ceh on that. He also started with two invalid throws, but in the end it was still the two world stars who were at the top of the results list.
Great news for the Olympics
In the fifth round, Ceh responded with a huge throw of 67.64, which meant the lead. Daniel Ståhl managed to respond with his best throw for the competition, but 66.55 was “only” enough for a second place in the competition. Daniel Ståhl was looking for revenge on Ceh after the Slovenian won European Championship gold a few weeks ago, but will have to wait a while longer.
Daniel Ståhl was afterwards self-critical of how he started the competition in Sollentuna, but then came up with a wonderful message with just over a month left until the season’s highlight, the Olympics in Paris.
– I was a little eager at the beginning. But I feel that I am on the way, he tells SVT.
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