India’s Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra is set to defend his title in the men’s javelin throw at the Paris 2024 Olympics, starting with the qualification round on Tuesday.
At 26, Chopra comes into the competition as both the reigning Olympic and world champion. He boasts a season-best throw of 88.36m, achieved at the Doha Diamond League in May, and holds the Indian national record of 89.94m, set at the Stockholm Diamond League in June 2022.
The qualification round will determine the finalists for the event on Thursday. To secure a place in the final, athletes must meet the qualifying mark of 84.00m. If fewer than 12 competitors achieve this distance, the top-ranked athletes will fill the remaining spots, ensuring a minimum of 12 finalists.
Chopra will face a highly competitive field. Notable contenders include Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who won silver at the 2023 World Championships and gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with a throw of 90.18m. Germany’s Julian Weber, the European Games champion, has a personal best of 89.54m and has consistently thrown over 85m this season.
Other top competitors include Finland’s Oliver Helander, who is ranked fourth globally with a season-best of 85.75m, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott, a two-time Olympic medalist with a season-best of 85.11m. Kenya’s Julius Yego, the Rio 2016 silver medalist and former world champion, also brings a wealth of experience with a season-best of 81.74m.
Additionally, athletes to watch include Jakub Vadlejch from Czechia, Anderson Peters from Grenada, and Germany’s Max Dehning, who currently holds the world-leading mark of 90.20m set in February.