Giant thrower was joined on podium by training partner Simon Pettersson after first field events final of the Tokyo Games

Daniel Ståhl lived up to the mantle of favourite as he took Olympic discus gold thanks to a 68.90m throw in Tokyo on Saturday (July 31). With Swedish team-mate Simon Pettersson earning silver, it was an historic result for the Scandinavian nation and their joy was clear. “We are Swedish vikings!” Ståhl roared on his victory lap.

It was the first Swedish one-two in an Olympic athletics event since the 10,000m race walk at the 1948 London Games when John Mikaelsson and Ingemar Johansson took gold and silver.

In the men’s discus itself, the only Olympic medal that Sweden had won prior to this year was bronze from Ricky Bruch in 1972. Ståhl, 28, also became the first Swedish male athlete to win Olympic gold at a Summer Games since sailing duo Max Salminen and Fredrik Loof in 2012.

The stats don’t end there, either. Ståhl struck Sweden’s first athletics gold at the Olympics since Athens in 2004 when the golden generation of Carolina Klüft, Stefan Holm and Christian Olsson took the heptathlon, high jump and triple jump titles.

During that period people were asking what the secrets of Swedish athletics were. Those successes petered away, however, but have now returned in force – in the men’s discus at any rate.

Ståhl has been world No.1 in recent seasons and was reigning world champion going into Tokyo. His second attempt was enough to take the title, with Pettersson earning silver with 67.39m and Lukas Weishaidinger winning bronze for Austria with 67.07m.

Kristjan Čeh, the Slovenian who many thought would be Ståhl’s toughest rival, had a big foul in the first round but he wound up fifth with a best of 66.37m.

“Amazing. I am very happy,” said Ståhl, who did not make the final in Rio five years ago. “There was a lot of hard work and fun on the way. I am extremely proud.”

Both Ståhl and Pettersson are coached by Vesteinn Hafsteinsson and they peaked to perfection in Japan.

On trying to prepare during a pandemic, Ståhl added: “Sweden had different rules in early 2020 and so we have been training as usual, but keeping distance. We have been lucky. We have been kicking ass.”