"Beer as a reward"

Weißhaidinger on the podium at the Diamond League final

Lukas Weißhaidinger

(Bild: Gladys von der Laage)

Incredible end to the season for Austria's athletics star Lukas Weißhaidinger! The European Championship silver medallist and 2024 Olympic silver medallist took a sensational third place in the discus throw at the Diamond League final in Brussels with 66.52 m.

The "Krone" reports from Brussels

The Upper Austrian was only beaten by Olympic bronze medallist Matthew Denny (Aus/69.96) and world record holder Mykolas Alekna (Lit/68.86). "I'll have a wheat beer as a reward," laughed Lukas Weißhaidinger.

(Bild: GEPA)

This fulfilled the Austrian's dream of achieving a top 3 place in the final. In front of 37,000 spectators in cool weather, he put in a fantastic series! He improved from lap to lap at the start. In his fourth attempt, he then achieved his best distance of the day of 66.52m. This put him ahead of Daniel Stahl (Sd/66.26) and world champion Kristjan Ceh (Slo/65.40) in the final rankings.

"With fun and humor"
"That's how you can end a season," he laughed, "I really got into the competition." The conditions were not ideal, the ring was still a little wet from the rain in the afternoon - and it was already damn chilly. "My socks were already soaked. Now I'm going to put my feet up in front of a heater at the hotel." But (almost) everyone had problems achieving great distances that evening. Only Matthew Denny was in a class of his own. With 69.96 m, he even threw a national record at the end of the season.

"But I took this competition with a lot of fun and humor. I was really relaxed," said a delighted Lukas Weißhaidinger, who hadn't been throwing "so well" in training recently. But now, in his sixth Diamond League final, it worked out great. Now he is looking forward to a vacation. "I now have five weeks off!"

Lukas Weißhaidinger with "Krone" reporter Olaf Brockmann

(Bild: Makori)

Anniversary for Weißhaidinger
An interesting statistical detail in passing, with which Lukas Weißhaidinger celebrated a nice anniversary. For the 150th (!) time, he finished a competition with a distance of over 60 meters. An achievement that cannot be appreciated enough. His long run of success began a decade ago, when he broke the then magical barrier for the first time with 60.02 m in Neuhofen on April 25, 2014...

(Bild: APA/AFP/Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)

Vicky Hudson follows on Saturday
On the second day of the final, Austria has a second hot iron in the fire in Brussels on Saturday with European champion Victoria Hudson. The Lower Austrian has qualified for the final of the world's six best female javelin throwers in fifth place overall. She already took part in last year's Diamond League final in Eugene. After the World Championships in Budapest, where she finished a sensational fifth, she took sixth place. This year, she naturally wants to work her way up a little further. "A top 3 place would be my dream," she said. This would also put her big disappointment from the Games in Paris to one side. Surprisingly, she was eliminated in the qualifying round there. She says: "For me, the final is the ideal opportunity to show my true potential."