With a new throwing technique

Luki is now going full throttle for his second Olympic medal

At the major events of the last two years, discus ace Lukas Weißhaidinger finished in the beaten field. He and coach Gregor Högler are therefore putting everything on a new card in the Olympic year. The 32-year-old changed his throwing technique once again. From now on, it's all about speed. "He is now a pure speed thrower," says Högler. The aim is to go full throttle towards a medal in Paris.

Stop, that was wrong. Sometimes Lukas Weißhaidinger has to stop his throwing motion. With a grin, he then catches himself thinking that he has lunged from the top again. No wonder, as he had automated this for years. But in the Olympic year, the discus champion changed his technique once again.

It was an emotionally driven decision, as Weißhaidinger explains. "With the way I was throwing last time, you had to stay calm for a long time. That was particularly difficult in pressure situations. With the new variant, I can be aggressive and push hard, which suits me better." In short, it's all about full throttle.

Luki is working hard on the new technique(Bild: GEPA pictures)

"Luki is now a pure speed thrower," says coach Gregor Högler, getting to the heart of the matter. A technique also practiced by the new world record holder Mykolas Alekna. That's why his throw of 74.35 meters gave the duo confidence. "We've seen that we're on the right track."

Five kilos slimmer
One factor is that Weißhaidinger, who now comes more from the hip, has to be faster and more agile. That is why the 1.97 meter tall Upper Austrian has lost five kilos and now "only" weighs 145. They studied the world record throw closely. "Alekna then landed twisted to the front left of the circle," says Högler. This is where Weißhaidinger should ideally end up.

Coach Gregor Högler tinkers along(Bild: GEPA pictures)

It is clear that such a strict break just a few months before the Olympics carries a risk. But with the old technique, Weißhaidinger and Högler agree, there would have been no medal in Paris. "And when you already have one, you want another one," grins Luki, although he knows it will be difficult.

Högler muses: "With the old technique, Luki would probably always have been in the final, but then you ask yourself: Is that what you want? Or do you want more?" He also believes that the last two rather mixed years could now have a positive effect on Weißhaidinger. "At the beginning, there was a certain saturation after all the medals. But now Luki is hungrier than ever."

Paris is getting closer and closer(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The Diamond League meeting in Marrakesh on Sunday, where almost the entire world elite will be competing, will be the first opportunity to see where he stands. Before that, Weißhaidinger will be throwing in St. Pölten on Friday. At the end of May and beginning of June, he will then have a tough program with the Diamond League meetings in Oslo and Stockholm as well as the European Championships in Rome within a week. 

Ranking only important in Paris
"But the results won't be so important for me then, rather the distances," says Weißhaidinger. Because of course he's not quite there yet with his technique. The important thing is that he has enough competitions to keep improving, especially under pressure. Because at all the important meetings this season, the most important thing is to be at the highest level of performance at the Olympics in Paris. "It's only there that the ranking is really important," Weißhaidinger and Högler agree once again.