Lukas Weißhaidinger (born 20 February 1992) is an Austrian

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

er and

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

ter. He was European junior discus champion in 2011 and holds the Austrian record in men's discus throw. He won bronze medals at the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburg ...

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global sport of athletics, athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athleti ...

, and

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Career

In his childhood Weißhaidinger competed in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

, but dropped that sport after growing too tall and concentrated on athletics. Weißhaidinger won gold in both the shot (20.35 m/5 kg) and the discus (60.94 m/1.5 kg) at the 2009 European Youth Olympic Festival in

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

. He also competed in both events at the 2009 World Youth Championships and the 2010 World Junior Championships; in the shot he placed fourth in 2009 and sixth in 2010, while in the discus he went out in qualifying both times. In 2011 Weißhaidinger set Austrian junior records in both the shot and the discus and won gold in the discus at the European Junior Championships in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

(63.83 m/1.75 kg); in the shot he placed fifth. He was the first Austrian since Günther Weidlinger and Linda Horvath in 1997 to win a European junior title. Weißhaidinger broke the Austrian under-23 shot put record in 2012, throwing 19.22 m. He was a finalist in both the shot and the discus at the 2013 European U23 Championships, but did not place in the top six in either event. Weißhaidinger first broke 60 metres with the men's 2 kg discus in 2014, throwing 60.02 m in April and 60.68 m in May; he was the first Austrian under-23 thrower to exceed 60 metres, breaking

Gerhard Mayer Gerhard Mayer (born May 20, 1980 in Vienna) is a male discus thrower from Austria. He represented his native country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he ended up in 18th place in the overall-rankings. He also competed at the 2012 S ...

's national under-23 record from 2001. Weißhaidinger competed in the shot at the 2015 European Indoor Championships, but was eliminated in the qualification. Outdoors, he improved his personal best in the discus several times, reaching 63.13 m in July; on 1 August, helped by perfect wind conditions and a new technique, he threw 67.24 m in

Schwechat Schwechat () is a city southeast of Vienna known for the Vienna International Airport and Schwechater beer. The city is home to the Oil refinery, refineries of the Austrian national oil company OMV. Geography Schwechat is named after the river S ...

, improving his personal best by more than four metres and breaking Gerhard Mayer's Austrian record of 67.20 m. The mark also exceeded the qualifying standards for the 2015 World Championships and the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

; at the time, it ranked him fourth on the 2015 world list. In the

he qualified for the final round and finished sixth with 64.95m. The same year, he won the

IAAF World Challenge The IAAF World Challenge was an annual, global circuit of one-day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation ...

events in Madrid and

ISTAF Berlin The Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) is an annual track and field athletics meeting at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. It was first held in July 1921 at the Deutsches Stadion, which was replaced from 1937 by the Stadium of the 1936 ...

. The 2017 season, he started off earlier than usual with participating at the indoor

, one of the few indoor events for discus throwers finishing third with a 62.23m. In March he competed in the 2017 European Cup Winter Throwing which he won with 65.73m, which also means qualifying for the

2017 World Championships in Athletics The 2017 IAAF World Championships, the sixteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 4 to 13 August at London Stadium in London, United Kingdom. London was officially awarded the championships on 11 November 2011. Bidding p ...

. During his career, he was awarded numerous awards. In the election for the Austrian track and field athlete of the year, held by the Austrian Athletics Federation, he has been elected once "Track and Field Newcomer of the Year" and twice "Track and Field Athlete of the Year" in 2009, 2015 and 2016 respectively. His biggest award, "Newcomer of the Year", was awarded to him in 2016. Early in the 2018 season, Weißhaidinger threw 68.98m, setting the new Austrian record in men's discus throw. At the

Weißhaidinger qualified for the final in the second last place with a throw of 62.26m. In the final he threw 65.14m on his fifth attempt, earning him a bronze medal. During the

Weißhaidinger again barely made the final in the last place with a throw of 63.31m. In the final he threw 66.82m on his third attempt, securing him a bronze medal. In 2021, he won the bronze medal in the

. It is the first ever Olympic medal for Austria in men's athletics.

Fanclub

Weißhaidinger is supported by his own fan club, which is called the "Lucky Luky Fanclub" and is based in Taufkirchen an der Pram.

Honors

* On 27 October 2016 Lukas Weißhaidinger was awarded the 2016 Rising Star of the Year prize at the Lotteries Gala Night of Sports. * On 28 July 2021 an

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

was named after him: (341317) Weisshaidinger.

References

External links

*
Lukas Weisshaidinger
at Austrian Athletics Federation (archived) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weisshaidinger, Lukas 1992 births Living people People from Schärding District Austrian male discus throwers Austrian male shot putters World Athletics Championships athletes for Austria European Games silver medalists for Austria Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 European Games European Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Austria World Athletics Championships medalists Athletes from Upper Austria Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists for Austria Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 European Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century Austrian sportsmen