Arshad Nadeem, Pakistan’s last remaining hope for a medal at Paris 2024, will be competing in the men’s javelin throw final tonight at the Stade de France.
August 8 marks exactly 32 years since Pakistan won an Olympic medal after the hockey team clinched a bronze with a 4-3 win over the Netherlands in Barcelona in 1992.
Nadeem, now a two-time Olympian, seems well-prepared headed into tonight’s final after throwing a solid 86.59m in his lone attempt in Tuesday’s qualifier round. He requested the nation’s prayers a day earlier and attributed it as the reason for him making it to the final.
Tonight’s final is anyone’s game going in. Reigning Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra is looking to defend his title, which the Indian sensation is on track for after a massive 89.34m throw.
Nadeem will reignite Pakistan-India rivalry as he takes on Chopra for the first time since they shared a podium and made history for South Asia at the 2023 World Athletics Championship. Injuries and surgery have kept Nadeem off the field over the past 12 months while Chopra was pocketing international medals, but Nadeem has a history of giving the nation a bit of magic every August, and he will be looking to replicate that tonight.
Grenada’s Anderson Peters has the highest personal best (PB) throw among tonight’s field with a monstrous 93.07m posted at the Doha Diamond League in 2022. While he hasn’t come close to replicating that throw in two years, a season best throw of 88.63m in the heats puts him high on the medal contender list.
Germany’s Julian Weber will be thirsting for Olympic glory after being edged off the podium at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. His 87.76m throw in the qualifier ranks him as third seed, and he’s also ranked world number three behind Chopra at 2.
Current world number 1 Jakub Vadlejch of Czechia is looking to add a gold to the silver medal he won at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics behind Chopra. The reigning European champion is seeded third (87.76m) heading into the final.
Kenya’s Julius Yego has had a series of average throws all season, but an 85.97m throw puts him in the running for a medal tonight. The Rio 2016 silver medallist also has a monstrous PB of 92.72m, which stands as the current African record.
Only three athletes tonight have won an Olympic medal before — Yego, Vadlejch and Chopra.
And only five of tonight’s finalists have crossed the 90m barrier; Peters (93.07m); Yego (92.72m); Vadlejch (90.88m); Nadeem (90.18m); and Keshorn Wolcott (90.16m) of Trinidad and Tobago.
Chopra hasn’t been able to gain entry into the elite 90m club just yet, but after bagging all five athletic titles (Olympic, world, Commonwealth, Asian and Diamond League), there’s no telling what the javelin powerhouse is capable of.
