India’s Neeraj Chopra competes in the men’s javelin throw event at the “Athletissima” Diamond League athletics meeting in Lausanne on August 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP
He dug deep for a season’s best, better than what he managed at the Olympics. The 89.49m throw from Neeraj Chopra elicited a wild scream of anguish from the man, holding his head in his hands, knowing it was yet another case of so-near-yet-so-far.
The throw, Neeraj’s final of the night at the Diamond League in Lausanne, got him a second spot — it took yet another 90m plus throw from Anderson Peters, bettering a nine-year old meet record, to unseat him from the top spot in a competition he had won the last two times. It had been a struggle for the Indian through the night, failing to reach even 85m and in danger of missing out on a place in the top three, before going all out in the last two.
At the end of the first four throws, Neeraj was fourth with a best throw of 83.21m and behind Artur Felfner (83.38m) of Ukraine. But for someone who has finished among the top-two in every competition he has participated in since 2018, this was not going to be the day he would break the streak.
He ran in hard and even though he knew his fifth throw was nowhere close to his best, it was enough to put him in the top three.
Peters’ final throw was a massive 90.61m, and Neeraj responded. His initial reaction at the end of his sixth throw was the familiar no-look shout, finger raised, knowing it had done his best — only to turn back and see the official distance best and letting out a frustrated roar. Even a half-fit Neeraj had managed a career second-best on the day.
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“The feeling wasn’t great at first, but I am happy with my throw, especially the second-best throw for the season on my last attempt. It was a tough start, but the comeback was really nice. I enjoyed the fighting spirit I showed. Even though my early throws were around 80-83 metres, I pushed hard in the last two attempts to finish strong. Competing at this high level, it’s important to stay mentally tough and fight through till the very end,” Neeraj told the organisers after the competition.
The good thing is his incredible consistency. Neeraj and Grenadian Peters were the only two to not foul a single throw, deliberately or otherwise, on Thursday night — Peters, in fact, went under 86m only once.
Consider this: the top-10 throws this season have three each from Neeraj and Peters and two from Czech Jakub Vadlejch, who finished seventh. The top three in the world in the latest rankings are Vadlejch, Neeraj, Julian Weber and Peters, a testament to their consistency.
Even in a year that he has struggled with injury and strains, he has managed three 89m plus throws. But the elusive 90m remains a monkey on his back, and he has two more events left to do that in 2024, the next being the Zurich Diamond League on September 5. And for someone who has won everything in athletics, this is perhaps the biggest driver to further greatness.
