The current world champion and gold winner from Tokyo 2020, Neeraj Chopra, has been chosen as the 2024 best javelin thrower by the US sports publication Track and Field News. After an incredibly consistent season, the 27-year-old Indian athlete was awarded the distinction. Chopra participated in six tournaments and finished in the top two all year long with two victories and four second-place results. Chopra started his 2024 campaign in May in the Doha Diamond League.
He finished second to Czech thrower Jakub Vadlejch with an 88.36-meter throw. He later won the National Federation Senior Athletics Competition in India and the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland. With a throw of 89.45 meters, Chopra took home silver in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, trailing only Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, who set an Olympic record of 92.97 meters.
Chopra finished the season in second place in Brussels. He was surpassed by Anderson Peters of Grenada, although later in the year he set his career’s second-best throw of 89.49 meters at the Lausanne Diamond League. Track & Field News placed Nadeem sixth despite his historic Olympic result, pointing to his sparse international competition participation (only two events) as a major contributing reason.
Neeraj Chopra’s Win Reflects Excellence
The bronze medallist from Paris 2024, Peters, finished second in the rankings. Chopra and Peters were in a fierce rivalry. According to Track and Field News Magazine, which was established in 1948 and is regarded as the “Bible of Sport.” Since June 2021, he has maintained remarkable consistency, securing either a win or a runner-up position in 24 consecutive events. Third place goes to Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic.
Fourth place goes to Julian Weber of Germany. The top six on the list include Finland’s Oliver Helander and Nadeem. Peters won three Diamond League competitions in Brussels, Zurich, and Lausanne. He won an Olympic bronze to top off his effort. According to the magazine, Nadeem’s placement in the fifth. It was influenced by the fact that he only attended one meet outside of Olympic gold.
