Paris Olympics 2024 witnessed Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem producing two monstrous 90m+ throws to snatch the Olympic gold in javelin throw from India's defending champion Neeraj Chopra. Neeraj produced a season-best throw of 89.54m but couldn't win gold as 27-year-old Arshad Nadeem broke the Olympic record with his 92.97m throw in the second attempt. Nadeem is also the first Pakistani to win an individual gold in Games history.
Two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Granada won the bronze medal (88.54m).
HIGHLIGHTS | Neeraj Chopra's javelin throw final Paris Olympics 2024: As it happened
Neeraj only managed two legitimate throws in his six attempts. Apart from his medal-winning second try, it was a disappointing show by Neeraj despite several Indian fans cheering him on. Nadeem was crowned the new Olympic champion before his final attempt as Neeraj's final attempt didn't cross the 92.97m-mark. However, the Pakistani athlete finished strongly by breaking the 90m barrier a second time.
Before tonight, Chopra had never lost to Nadeem in their 10 earlier meetings, reports said. Arshad Nadeem's dream performance also means India might have to conclude its Paris campaign sans a gold medal. Neeraj, meanwhile became the first Indian track-and-field athlete to win two successive Olympic medals.
Neeraj Chopra was in red-hot form and was among the athletes to make direct qualification for the javelin throw finals. World No. 2, Neeraj had produced a monstrous 89.34m throw on his very first attempt to cross the 84 m mark. However, Nadeem had other plans and India's 26-year-old had to settle for a silver.
Key highlights:
- Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian track-and-field athlete to win two successive Olympic medals.
- Only wrestler Sushil Kumar (2008 and 2012) and shuttler PV Sindhu (2016 and 2021) have won back-to-back Olympic medals.
- Arshad Nadeem is the first Pakistani to win an individual gold in Olympic history.
- Arshad Nadeem is the second Asian to have thrown beyond 90m, the other being Chao-Tsun Cheng (91.36m in 2017) of Chinese Taipei.
- Arshad Nadeem's effort on Thursday was the sixth longest in the history of the sport.
- Before tonight, Neeraj Chopra had never lost to Arshad Nadeem in their 10 earlier meetings.