Top five favourites to win men's javelin throw competition at Doha Diamond League 2024

Published at :May 8, 2024 at 3:32 PM

Modified at :May 19, 2024 at 8:54 PM

(Courtesy : Getty Images)

The field is stacked with former world champions and current Olympic medalists.

The Doha Diamond League 2024 is the third stop of the Wanda Diamond League and will witness the participation of numerous Olympic and World Championships medalists. While some athletes will be opening their 2024 season campaign in Doha, others will look for impressive performances before the Paris Olympics.

One of the most anticipated events at the Doha Diamond League 2024 is the men’s javelin throw which will make its debut at the Diamond League this season. The event didn’t feature at the Xiamen and Shanghai/Suzhou legs.

With that said, let’s look at the top five favourites to win the event in Doha:

5. Oliver Helander

Oliver Helander is one of the athletes to watch out for at the Doha Diamond League 2024. He has been one of the most consistent javelin throwers over the years, surpassing the 85.00m throw mark every year since 2018.

His personal best of 89.83m came in 2022 at the Paavo Nurmi Games where he clinched a surprise victory on home soil over the Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, who had to settle for second place despite a then national record performance of 89.30m.

However, Helander has been unfortunate to have missed podium finishes at top events like the World Championships in 2023 and 2022, as the Finnish athlete ended his campaign with a seventh and eighth-place finish with throws of 83.38m and 82.24m respectively.

4. Kishore Jena

India’s Kishore Jena experienced his breakthrough year in the sport in 2023. He registered a personal best throw of 84.38m at the Sri Lanka Athletics National Championships 2023. He then went on to shatter his record with a new best of 84.77m to finish fifth in the finals of the World Athletics Championships 2023, despite initially facing visa issues to reach Budapest.

On October 4, 2023, Jena achieved his career-best performance by throwing the spear to a distance of 87.54m at the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou. This performance not only helped him to breach the Olympic qualification mark set at 85.50m but also to clinch the silver medal at the competition.

Jena will be making his Diamond League 2024 debut in Doha and will aim for an impressive show to start his campaign in the Olympic year.

3. Anderson Peters

The two-time world champion Anderson Peters will return to one of his favourite events, having recorded a personal best and national record performance of 93.07m two years ago at the Doha Diamond League. He had a disappointing 2023 season, where he failed to defend his World Championships title, finishing 16th overall in qualification.

As the Paris Olympics 2024 are approaching, he would look for an impressive outing in Doha. He earlier opened his season at the Grenadian Championships 2024 with a best effort of 80.69m.

2. Jakub Vadlejch

Jakub Vadlejch will enter the javelin throw event as one of the prime contenders to bag the top position. The year 2023 saw him win his third Diamond League title in Eugene with a throw of 84.24m and clinch a bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships 2023. For the 2024 season, his primary goal will be to upgrade his silver medal in Tokyo to gold in Paris.

Having achieved a perfect start to his Olympic season at the ASA Athletics Grand Prix 1 with a massive throw of 87.00m, he will pose a serious threat to all the javelin-throwers who will be in action at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium.

1. Neeraj Chopra

The reigning Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra is another favourite to win the Doha Diamond League 2024. After making history as the first Indian to win a gold medal in an athletics event at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, he became India’s first world champion in athletics with a remarkable throw of 88.17m.

Chopra will begin his 2024 season at the Doha Diamond League, having previously clinched a victory in the 2023 edition of the series with a throw of 88.67m. As he starts his campaign in Doha, he will aim to have another record-breaking season this year and defend his Olympic gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024.

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