Arshad Nadeem was awarded his gold medal on Friday after winning the men’s javelin throw with a monstrous 92.97m throw which shattered the Olympic record a day earlier.
The 27-year-old stepped up to the podium to massive applause from the crowd, holding the coveted medal up to the camera.
With one hand on his chest, Nadeem sang the national anthem as he watched Pakistan’s flag being raised after 40 years at an Olympic stadium.
In a post on X, Nadeem dedicated his gold medal as a gift to the nation on Independence Day.
“First of all, I thank Allah Almighty for this huge success, with the prayers of my parents, prayers of the entire nation and especially the tireless effort of my coach Mr. Salman Iqbal Butt and the support of Dr. Ali Sher Bajwa, I have achieved this massive milestone. Thank you All!”
His coach Salman Butt said earlier on Friday that the athlete’s massive 92.97m throw in the javelin final was “unbelievable”.
Nadeem’s throw also shattered the previous Olympic record of 90.57m, set by the Netherlands’ Andreas Thorkildsen at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
“I knew he had a big throw, but that was really surprising,” Butt chuckled.
“It’s like that guy said, this was ‘out of syllabus’,” an amused Butt told Dawn.com on Friday.
Tokyo 2020 gold medallist, India’s Neeraj Chopra, took home silver with an 89.45m throw on his second attempt, the only viable throw of the night among five foul throws.
Grenada’s Anderson Peters took home bronze and his first Olympic medal with an 88.54m throw.
Nadeem’s throw was historic across the board. It was Pakistan’s first ever individual gold medal, the first gold medal in 40 years and the first Olympic medal in 32 years. He also became the first Pakistani to win a medal in Athletics, and the first Pakistani to hold an Olympic record.
The journey to Olympic glory was preceded by a tiring 72 hours, Butt said.
It began with Tuesday’s qualifier round where Nadeem threw a season’s best throw of 86.59m to head into Thursday night’s final as fourth seed.
As his coach and manager in Paris, “we have technical things to take care of”.
“We need to attend to his injury spot, correspond with his doctor, repeatedly administer massages, then relax his body,” Butt explained.
“Then we have to work on his strength, his speed.”
Butt had high praise for the accommodation he and Nadeem have been given in Paris at the Athletes Village.
“It’s a clean, pristine environment. These were good arrangements as far as Paris is concerned,” Butt said. “No complaints; all praise actually.”
