Ukrainian hammer thrower Mikhail Kokan claimed his second international victory in the 2025 season by winning gold at the International Cup in Antalya.
This event in Turkey marked Mikhail's third competition this season: in February, he secured first place at the "Critеrium LIFA Hivernal de Lancer Long" in France, and in March, he finished sixth at the European Throwing Cup.
In Antalya, Kokan faced two other competitors: the local athlete Habib Islamo Kurt and Georgian Goga Chikvare. After the first attempt, Mikhail took the lead with a throw of 76.50 meters, nearly 22 meters ahead of Kurt.
In his second attempt, the Ukrainian improved his result by three centimeters, although his third attempt was not counted. However, in his fourth attempt, Kokan surpassed the 80-meter mark, throwing 80.50 m. In his fifth throw, Mikhail further improved to achieve his best result of the season — 80.73 m. No other competitor reached even 60 meters.
Turkey. Hammer Throw — Men
- Mikhail Kokan (Ukraine) — 80.73 m
- Pawel Fajdek (Poland) — 57.93 m
- Wojciech Nowicki (Poland) — 56.54 m
Mikhail Kokan: results for the 2025 season
- February 2. Bua-d'Arsi (France) — 1st place, 75.80 m
- March 16. Nicosia (Cyprus) — 6th place, 76.11 m
- April 27. Antalya (Turkey) — 1st place, 80.73 m
Mikhail Kokan: athlete's profile
- 24-year-old hammer thrower representing Dnipro. Bronze medalist at the 2024 Olympic Games.
- World champion among youth in 2017. European champion among youth (2018), juniors (2019), and under-23 (2021, 2023). Senior champion of the European Throwing Cup 2024.
- Silver medalist of the team Euro-2023 held during the European Games in Poland and bronze medalist of Euro-2024.
- Kokan's personal record in hammer throw is 81.14 meters, set in September 2024 at a competition in Zagreb, Croatia.