Victory in Doha would be a real confidence booster: Matt Denny
Olympic discus bronze medallist Matt Denny of Australia – ranked second on the world all-time list after his impressive 74.78m throw in Ramona in April – will compete against reigning world champion and former Olympic champion Daniel Ståhl (SWE) and 2022 world champion Kristjan Ceh (SLO) at the Jetour Doha Meeting on May 16 (Friday).
Denny is in the form of his life. Crowned Commonwealth Games champion in 2022, he went on to win back-to-back Diamond League titles in 2023 and 2024. His Oceania record at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational at Millican Field in Ramona (13 April 2025) came a week after breaking the 70-metre barrier for the first time in his career (where he also became the first Oceania man to thrown in excess of 72m). The only athlete to have thrown further is world record holder and Olympic silver medallist Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania (75.56m).
Ståhl, Olympic gold medallist in Tokyo 2021, finished seventh in Paris. He has yet to compete in 2025, but – with the exception of 2024 – he has consistently thrown in excess of 71m every year since 2019 and his national record of 71.86m is the equal-sixth best of all time (with Slovenian record-holder Ceh).
Ceh, the reigning European champion and 2022 Diamond League champion, will be aiming for his third successive win in Doha after victories in 2023 (70.89m) and 2024 (70.48m). World silver medallist in 2023, he finished fourth in the Olympic Games in Paris.
'This is a big year for me and I've had the perfect start,' said Denny who recorded throws in excess of 72m across three straight competitions in Ramona. 'My goal has always been to be the most dominant figure in men's discus. It's a hard feat right now because the event is in the best place it's ever been, but it's great to be a part of that. It's a nice feeling to have a lot of traction after the last few competitions and I feel pretty unstoppable. Obviously I'm after the world title in Tokyo later this summer, but to get a Diamond League win in Doha would be a real confidence boost at this point in the season.'
The well-decorated trio will be joined at the Qatar Sports Club by 2024 Olympic finalist Clemens Prufer of Germany (personal best 71.01m); 2019 world silver medallist and Jamaican record holder Fedrick Dacres (PB 70.78m); 2022 European bronze medallist and British record holder Lawrence Okoye (PB 70.76m); 2021 Olympic bronze medallist and Austrian record holder Lukas Weißhaidinger (PB 70.68m); Germany's World Championships finalist Henrik Janssen (PB 69.94m); and Qatar's 2024 national champion Moaaz Mohamed Ibrahim (PB 63.26m).
The Jetour Doha Meeting is the third meeting of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League. The series – which started in Xiamen on 26 April – comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field across four different continents and concludes with a single final across two days in Zurich (27-28 August).
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