Neeraj Chopra's top five challengers at Lausanne Diamond League 2024

Neeraj Chopra will look to defend his Lausanne Diamond League title.

The Lausanne Diamond League, known as Athletissima, is part of the Diamond League 2024 calendar and marks its 15th annual season. The competition will be held at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise in Lausanne, Switzerland, starting on August 22.

The Athletissima will feaature 14 events, with seven each for men and women. Despite the meet taking place after the Paris Olympics, many star athletes will participate. In the men’s javelin throw, all top throwers, except for the recently crowned Olympic Champion Arshad Nadeem and London Olympic Champion Keshorn Walcott, will be competing.

Also Read: Lausanne Diamond League 2024 Live Updates

Notably, Indian interest will be represented by two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra, who will be aiming to win the event.

After losing the Olympic title to arch-rival Arshad Nadeem, the reigning World Champion Neeraj Chopra will be eager to return to winning ways at the Lausanne Diamond League. He will look to complete a hat-trick, having won the meet in 2022 and 2023.

Let’s look at the top five challengers for Neeraj Chopra at the Lausanne Diamond League:

Also Read: Lausanne Diamond League 2024: Live streaming, TV channel, where and how to watch

Lassi Etealtalo (Finland)

The 36-year-old Finnish javelin thrower Lassi had a decent performance in the Olympics. Even though he had trouble throwing more than 80 meters at first, his third throw of 84.58m put him in the top eight, which allowed him to go on and have more chances.

Even though he had a personal best of 86.44m back in 2022, his skill and experience might make him a serious competitor, particularly if the competition has low scores.

Julius Yego (Kenya)

The silver medallist from the Rio Olympics, Julius Yego, is undoubtedly a formidable opponent who can give Neeraj a run for his money. Yego is among the few modern athletes who have broken the 90-meter barrier with a personal best of 92.72 meters.

However, he has struggled with consistency. Yego just found his form as he finished fifth with a great throw of 87.72 meters. Yego is anticipated to be a strong competitor in the Lausanne Diamond League.

Julian Weber (Germany)

The former European Champion, Julian Weber, had a decent outing at Paris Olympics 2024, finishing sixth with a throw of 87.40 meters. Notably, this throw would have secured him a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Despite his consistency, Julian has often missed out on podium finishes, frequently ending up in fourth or fifth place. This time, however, Julian is determined to break into the top three and is aiming to win the meet.

The 29-year-old also threw a 90m throw at the Olympics but had crossed the line and hence the throw wasn’t registered. With his skills and consistency, Julian is a serious contender in the competition.

Also Read: List of athletes to cross 90m mark in men’s javelin throw

Jakub Vadlejch (Czechia)

The Tokyo Olympic Silver medalist finished a heartbreaking fourth at Paris despite a huge throw of 88.50m missing the podium finish by just 0.04m. Jakub who won the Diamond League finals last year piping Neeraj, will want to showcase his capability as a top contender to win the Athletissima meet. Jakub has also breached the 90m mark in 2022 with a personal best of 90.88m.

Anderson Peters (Grenada)

Anderson won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics with a throw of 85.54m. The two-time World Champion will pose a serious threat to Neeraj on his road to victory in Lausanne. Anderson Peters defeated Neeraj in the 2022 World Championships.

He has thrown 90m a couple of times and can repeat the same at the Athletissima meet. Anders has defeated hot favourites in both of his world championship victories. He defeated Johannes Vetter at the 2019 World Championships and Neeraj at the 2022 World Championships. This has made him a serious challenger to win the Lausanne Diamond League.

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