- The 27-year-old smashed distance set by Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen in 2008
- He became Pakistan’s first gold medallist in an event other than field hockey
- India’s Neeraj Chopra was left blown away in second with throw of 89.45m
Arshad Nadeem, from Pakistan, has smashed the Olympic record in the javelin with a monster throw of 92.97m on his way to victory at the Stade de France.
The monumental effort saw him become his country’s first medallist in 32 years and their first ever track and field gold medallist on a historic night for Pakistan.
Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen had held the javelin record since the 2008 Games but his distance of 90.57m was comprehensively demolished by more than two metres under the lights in Paris tonight.
Once the 27-year-old’s javelin had sunk into the ground ahead of the boxes denoting the Olympic record, gold was practically guaranteed as he left his competitors floundering in his wake.
Silver medallist Neeraj Chopra fell three-and-a-half metres short of his Pakistani rival with the Indian only able to throw a distance of 89.45m.
Arshad Nadeem, from Pakistan, has smashed the Olympic record in the javelin with a monster throw of 92.97m
Once the 27-year-old’s javelin had sunk into the ground ahead of the boxes denoting the Olympic record, gold was practically guaranteed
The monumental effort saw him become his country’s first medallist in 32 years
Nadeem had secured gold at the Commonwealth Games two years ago with a throw which cleared 90m but his form had cooled since that summer.
As he took a deep breath and began his run, his face etched with concentration, even the immense athlete could not have anticipated the throw he was about to produce.
But from the moment the javelin left his hand at 70mph, the attempt seemed an enormous one and the huge crowd at the Stade de France held its breath collectively as the projectile hung in the Paris air.
As it planted itself firmly into the ground, the cheer from the thousands of punters gave the game away – with the javelin having landed comfortably past the 90m mark where the Olympic record box lay.
The Pakistani athlete spread his arms out to the crowd in celebration before placing his head in his hands as he realised the importance of what he had just done.
Meanwhile, his coach got to his feet and applauded loudly as Nadeem took in the plaudits of his new legion of supporters.
The throw clinched a first Olympic gold for Pakistan since the men’s field hockey team at Los Angeles 1984 and a first medal of any description since a bronze in the same event in Barcelona eight years later.
It was also the country’s first gold in an event that is not field hockey, with its athletes claiming a bronze each in welterweight wrestling and middleweight boxing.
The throw, despite falling a few metres short of the world record, went down as the sixth longest of all time.
The 27-year-old claimed had the silver medal at the 2023 World Championships but went one better in Paris tonight after a performance few in the Stade will forget.
India’s Neeraj Chopra (left) came second in the event while Grenada’s Anderson Peters nabbed bronze
Silver medallist Chopra fell three-and-a-half metres short of his Pakistani rival
The throw clinched a first Olympic gold for Pakistan since the men’s field hockey team at Los Angeles 1984
Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen had held the javelin record since the 2008 Games but his distance of 90.57m was comprehensively demolished
Remarkably, the thrower had faltered in the early stages of a tense final, being called up on a flawed run-up resulting in his opening throw being chalked off.
India’s Chopra seemed set to beat his rival and friends with some solid early attempts to put the pressure on.
But Nadeem then produced a record-breaking throw and the rest of the event was a formality.
