EUGENE, Ore. — Florida’s Thomas Mardal produced a new personal best and 2021 collegiate leading mark of 76.74 meters to win the men’s Hammer Throw in the first scoring event at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, on Wednesday’s opening day of competition.
Personal Best and School Record For Mardal
Mardal, who has been enjoying a record-breaking campaign, continued his fruitful form for the Gators with an impressive series that included the winning mark in the second round of the contest. His effort on day one saw him improving his previous hammer throw school record and personal best of 74.28m.
The four-time SEC champion, and Norway native, who won his first national title earlier this year at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships in March, backed that accomplishment up with his first outdoors crown and became the first Gator man to win this event.
Also in his series, Mardal 73.87m in the first round before going 74.53m in the third round to secure a place in the final. He then threw 74.56m, 74.18m, and 75.75m to close out the competition.
Gleb Dudarev of Kansas, the 2019 champion, grabbed the silver medal with a throw of 74.53m in the fifth round of the contest. After fouling on his opening two attempts, the Jayhawks senior produced a mark of 73.87m in the third round to advance to the final.
Wrapping up the podium positions was Kostas Zaltos of Minnesota, and the Big 10 champion from Greece, who did a personal-best mark of 71.21m in the second round.
Completing the top five were Iowa State’s Vlad Pavlenko, who was delighted with his effort of 71.12m for fourth, and Alexios Prodanas of Virginia Tech with a personal best of 71.08m.
The 2021 NCAA Championships continues on Wednesday with a loaded schedule on the men’s side and you can follow all the action from the links below on this page.
Day 1 Schedule: 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships June 9
When Are 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships, How To Watch Live
How Many Big 12 Teams Heading To 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships?
