Defending champion Neeraj Chopra has joined the 90-metre club this year, but faces stronger rivals than before
Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem has missed most of the season through injury but has the all-clear to compete in Tokyo
Julian Weber has been the most consistent, throwing a world-leading 91.51m to win Diamond League title
Ever since his breakthrough Olympic triumph in 2021, javelin fans have been wondering when Neeraj Chopra would breach the 90-metre line. The Indian superstar finally achieved that landmark earlier this year with his 90.23m national record at the Diamond League meeting in Doha.
Now, as he returns to the scene of his Olympic gold four years ago, Chopra hopes to produce another big throw in a bid to retain his world title.
He made history by winning gold in Budapest two years ago, becoming the first Asian winner of the men’s world javelin title. Not only has his coaching set-up changed since then – he is now guided by world record-holder Jan Zelezny – but so too has the standard of his competitors.
In most other years, Chopra’s 90.23m would be enough to top the world list ahead of a major championships. This season, it places him third heading into Tokyo behind Germany’s Julian Weber and Brazil’s Luiz da Silva.
Weber not only beat Chopra in Doha, throwing 91.06m, he went on to win the Diamond League title with two more throws beyond 91 metres, topped by a lifetime best of 91.51m.
Da Silva, an Olympic finalist in Paris last year, has set South American records of 86.34m and 86.62m earlier this year before smashing the mark for a third time at the Brazilian Championships in Sao Paulo last month.
Aside from the three men who have thrown beyond 90 metres this year, five more in the field have achieved that mark in previous seasons.
Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem is one of those. The Pakistani thrower unleashed an Olympic record of 92.97m in Paris last year to make history for his country. Prior to that, he had taken world silver behind Chopra in 2023.
Two-time world champion Anderson Peters claimed bronze in Paris with 88.54m. He has a best this year of 85.64m, but has the ability to produce a big throw when it matters.
Jakub Vadlejch, 2021 Olympic silver medallist and 2023 world bronze medallist, has competed sparingly this year, but he threw a season’s best of 82.33m in what was his final competition before heading to Tokyo.
Kenya’s 2015 world champion Julius Yego, 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad & Tobago, USA’s NACAC champion Curtis Thompson and host nation hope Yuta Sakiyama, who threw 87.16m to win the Japanese title, could all feature in the final.
AloJapan.com