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The four-time African javelin champion has had disappointing outings at the Worlds since winning gold in 2015 and he is hoping that luck will be on his side in Hungary
For Julius Yego, the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary is his last chance of winning a gold medal that he last claimed in 2015.
At 34, the next edition in 2025 in Tokyo, Japan might come too late for Yego, especially with the emergence of younger javelin throwers.
The four-time African champion has endured disappointing outings at the World Championships since winning gold in Beijing China in 2015. He finished 13th in London two years later, eighth in Doha in 2019 and 13th again in Eugene last year, showing how tough it has been for him.
However, in between, Yego claimed Olympics silver at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as well as three African titles, but he has admitted that injuries since 2016 have hampered him.
“I am happy, and I thank God I am free of injuries. Since 2016, I have not done well either in World Championship or the Olympics,” he told Citizen Digital last month.
"I now feel good, strong, ready, and determined to reclaim back my 2015 world gold medal in javelin.”
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17:58 - 29.07.2023
ATHLETICS Injury-free Julius Yego looking to reclaim 2015 World Championships javelin title
Yego last won a medal at the World Championships in 2015 when he won the world title in Beijing.
Yego’s form in 2023, has, however, not inspired confidence. He opened his 2023 campaign with a disappointing throw at the Diamond League Meeting in Doha, Qatar before jetting into the country for the Kip Keino Classic where he finished fifth.
He then competed at the Kenya Police Championships and National Championships where he reigned supreme after throwing 76.49m and 81.84m respectively. At the World Championships National trials, Yego managed to throw 78.43m.
'Mr YouTube,' however, has no option but stay on top of his game if he has to come home with gold or a medal from Budapest.
He will come up against Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, the Indian superstar who extended his national record to 89.94m last year, and was incredibly consistent in the high 80s.
Two-time world champion Peters, who threw 93.07m to win last year’s Doha diamond League as well as world and Olympic medallist Jakub Vadlejch (90.88) also pose a challenge.
Trinidad and Tobago’s 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott, another 90m performer, is also in the line-up, as are Germany’s European champion Julian Weber and Finland’s Oliver Helander.
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14:32 - 26.07.2023
ATHLETICS Julius Yego hoping to prove a point when he makes fourth appearance at 2024 Olympics
The javelin star is keeping fingers crossed that the Paris Games will yield success after his failed attempt in Tokyo
Yego’s competitors have set the bar so high and he will need to start in the high 80s that he managed between 2016 and 2019 as he pushes for the 90m mark which will get him into medal contention at the World Championships.
Yego last reached the 90s mark in 2015 when he hit 92.72m, an African record, to win gold in Beijing, China.
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