Kristjan Čeh is one of the top discus throwers making up a golden generation in the men’s event alongside the likes of Mykolas Alekna and Daniel Stahl.
The reigning European champion and 2022 world champion made his international debut for Slovenia 10 years ago at the 2016 European Athletics U18 Championships and has asserted himself as the fifth best of all-time.
But here are 10 things you may not know about the Slovenian.
Farm life
Čeh grew up on a rural dairy farm in his home town in Slovenia where he would get hands on with daily chores, including mucking out the cows.
He credits some of his strength to his farm life growing up, as it gave him “real power” rather than simply gym strength as they did most of the work by hand rather than with machinery.
Sport wasn’t his dream
Coming from his humble farm life, Ceh hadn’t really taken any interest in playing sport.
However, his school teacher encouraged him to try shot put and, now with no surprise, he was naturally good.
So he joined his local athletics club where he continued with the shot put and also picked up discus, which he now specialises in.
Poor eyesight
One of Čeh’s most recognisable characteristics, other than his height, is his thick-rimmed glasses that he throws in.
His eyesight is -4.0 in both eyes and is short sighted which feels pretty ironic for someone who throws so far!
Standing tall above the rest
Speaking of his height, Čeh stands at a staggering 2.06m (6ft 9), making him look tall even amongst other throwers, who are also unusually tall.
But even more notably, by 16-year-old the Slovenian had already shot up to 1.99m (6ft 5)!
Throwers wedding
In 2024 Čeh proposed to and married Anna Maria Orel, their official wedding date was the 21 September, with the party coming just over a year later.
And his wife is also a thrower! The Estonian is a hammer thrower with a PB of 69.85m, and has competed internationally including at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships.
Making a house a home
The couple have also been having their family home being custom built amongst a beautiful landscape of greenery in Ptuj.
Perhaps there’s even enough room for a throwing field with a discus/ hammer cage?
Expect the unexpected - high jump
High jumpers are known for their natural height, but less so for their muscle mass like Čeh is.
But that didn’t stop the Slovenian from giving it a go, now if only we knew what height that was!
Making Slovenian history
At just 23-years-old, Čeh won the world championships with a throw of 71.13m which was nearly two metres further than the now world record-holder Alekna who took second.
But this feat also marked just the second gold medal won by a Slovenian athlete at a World Athletics Championships with Primoz Kozmus being the first with his men’s hammer gold from Berlin 2009.
Coached by the best
A turning point in Čeh’s career came in 2022, as he started being coached by world and Olympic champion Gerd Kanter from Estonia.
That year Čeh started throwing over 70 metres consistently, becoming world champion and winning silver at the European Athletics Championships in Munich.
The pair have since parted ways but Kanter has played an indelible role in the development of Čeh's medal-laden career.
World record chase is on
Ramona, Oklahoma, has established itself as the best place to set a discus world record due to its cage set up and gusty winds.
Alekna even broke the world record twice in the same competition in 2025 so this year Čeh has set his sights on going to ‘Throw Town’ and taking his own shot at the world record of 75.56m on 9-12 April.
