Eugene, Oregon—With a best throw of 84.24 meters, Jakub Vadlejch was able to beat India’s top thrower Neeraj Chopra at the Men’s Javelin Throw Competition.
Vadlejch was the leader from the get-go, throwing 84.01 meters in his first attempt, while Chopra was right behind him at 83.80 meters. Setting such a high bar at the start, the rest of his competitors struggled to keep up and beat his record.
Chopra, however, remained a strong contender for the gold.
Chopra had set 83.80 meters as his best throw in his second attempt, which meant that he had four more chances. But, in all the attempts, he couldn’t quite catch up to Vadlejch ’s record, let alone make up for the distance he had thrown, as all four of his throws did not exceed 82 meters.
As for Vadlejch, things only got better for him when he succeeded in improving his distance in his final attempt. He covered a distance of 84.24 meters and was shortly announced as the victor who will take home the Diamond League trophy.
In the mixed zone interview, Vadlejch relayed that, as always, competing with Chopra was tough for him.
“It’s always tough competing with Neeraj, but victory is for me, very valuable. I’m still dreaming. I felt very well. It’s very difficult, especially in my age, I’m almost 33 years old, so it’s difficult but javelin throw is my life, so I love it,”
Vadlejch is now 32 years old, making him one of the oldest Javelin throwers in the men’s competition, but he has shown that he still has a lot of juice left in his tank as he has achieved some remarkable feats in the last two years. Last year, at the opening meeting of the Diamond League in Doha, Vadlejch managed to cover a distance of over 90 meters—a distance that has only been achieved once in Czech history. And this year, he also set the best record of 89.51 meters at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland.
Vadlejch in last seasonal bout
Vadlejch also announced that this would be his last competition for the season.
“This is end of season, and now rest and rest and rest. Tomorrow, maybe day after tomorrow, I will fly to Prague and then I will lie on bed and nothing more,” he said.
As for Chopra, he is set to compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where he will have another shot at clinching a gold medal for India.
“I still have one more competition, Asian Games in China. In big competitions, I think it’s about mindset; in big competitions we don’t need to prepare ourselves. When we enter the stadium, our mind is ready, and the body will be ready for the competition. I really like to compete with these guys, all are good friends and we’re all competing in a very good way.”, Chopra said.
The Hangzhou Asian Games will be held from Sep 23 to Oct 8.
How Joyce Muthoni Njeru won the 16 km Canfranc-Canfranc double