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April 14, 2001 - Arcadia Invitational
Discus USR Smashed by Nik Arrhenius



by John Dye

You have to be early and take a hike to watch the discuss at Arcadia, starting at 4 pm on the field beyond the baseball diamond beyond the far turn of the track.

Going into this meet, Kamy Keshmiri of Reno NV held the top 7 throws of all time, all better than 221 feet including the national record of 225-2. Meet officials had a feeling, though, and they chalked circles out to 230 feet.

After fouling in the first round, Nik Arrhenius improved every throw and with his fifth throw of 217-8 the Utah strong man was approaching Keshmiri territory. Then Arrhenius entered the ring for his last attempt. This one was perfect and the wind was perfect, a quartering wind from over Nik's shoulder from right to left. Arrhenius got the discus airborne mightily and it rode the wind all the way beyond the last circle as high school record keepers Jack Shepard and Mike Kennedy ran to see the spot. The first measure indicated a new national record, so they went after a metal tape to be sure. After several minutes, they finally announced the official mark: 234 feet, 3 inches.



Interviewed by Doug Speck with a portable loud speaker afterward, Arrhenius said he had been "messing up" at the end of the throw and adjusted his technique a bit during the competition. Nik's series got better with each throw until the record came on the last throw:

F, 196-6, 199-0, 217-0, 217-8, 234-3

His thoughts when he released the last throw? "I knew it was more than 220; I didn't know anything after that. It rode the wind pretty good."

When 234-3 is announced, fans erupt and Arrhenius seems to be thinking,
"What have I done?"


Event 63 Men's Discus Throw

Finals - Results - Saturday 04/14/01

PLACE ATHLETE NAME YR SCHOOL MARK
===== ======================= == =================== ==========
1 Arrenhius, Nick 12 MOUNTAIN VIEW, OREM 234'03.00"
2 Shields, Sean 12 ARROYO GRANDE,ARROY 202'04.00"
3 Ruziecki, Brian 11 HUNTINGTON BEACH,HU 188'02.00"
4 O'Neill, William 12 CLOVIS WEST,FRESNO, 185'06.00"




Links

DyeStat Coverage - http://www.dyestat.com/us/1out/Arcadia/results/056.htm


NEXT: Another Arcadia magic moment on the same night -- Alan Webb's victory in the mile over Ryan Hall and the Jeffersons.


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