Neeraj Chopra only had to make one try to sleepwalk into the men’s javelin final at the Olympics in Paris. With a magnificent throw of 89.34 meters, the reigning champion broke his season record and approached the elusive 90 meters mark to win the men’s javelin event on Tuesday.
The tremendous effort, which is the second-best of his career, also set aside concerns surrounding Chopra’s fitness after he revealed that he had been battling an adductor niggle in the build-up to the Games. His personal best continues to be 89.94m achieved back in 2022.
Men’s Javelin Throw Highlights, Paris Olympics 2024: Finals’ List
- CHOPRA Neeraj: 89.34
- PETERS Anderson: 88.63
- WEBER Julian: 87.76
- NADEEM Arshad: 86.59
- YEGO Julius: 85.97
- da SILVA Luiz Mauricio: 85.91
- VADLEJCH Jakub: 85.63
- KERANEN Toni: 85.27
- MARDARE Andrian: 84.13
- HELANDER Oliver: 83.81
- WALCOTT Keshorn: 83.02
- ETELATALO Lassi: 82.91
Neeraj was so effortless and nonchalant that there was no extravagant celebration or expected roar, which is common for athletes when the javelin satisfactorily leaves their hand. In fact, as soon as he let the javelin rip, Neeraj had a slightly natural look on his face. It was only when the cameras turned and panned to track the javelin’s landing that everyone realized the enormity of the throw. It was 89.35m.
Now, Neeraj had his arms up in the air. ‘It was inevitable,’ the look on his face screamed aloud that echoed through the walls of Stade de France and ran deep into the hearts of the rest of his competitors.
Much like his performance in the Tokyo Olympics, the 26-year-old crossed the automatic qualifying mark of 84m in his opening throw to occupy the top spot in Group B.
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