Paris Olympics: Yego chasing second medal as Kipyegon takes to the track again
Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 08.08.24. | 08:22
Five finals, including men's javelin are on the cards tonight
Julius Yego expressed delight, as expected, after qualifying for the javelin final with a season best thrown of 85.97m, but the hard work of medaling is today.
The throw was his second-best in close to five years, only coming after his 2019 African Games attempt of 87.73 in Rabat, Morocco.
Set to at 2125hrs, Yego is out to add to his Rio Olympics silver, a mark he achieved in his first throw before picking an injury in his fourth attempt. The other two attempts had not been legal.
India's Neeraj Chopra snatched gold from Yego after hitting the 90m mark with his fifth attempt.
The Olympic and world champion, Chopra, is out to win back-to-back titles as he seeks to get over the 90m marker for the first time in his illustrious career, which includes an Indian record of 89.94m set in Stockholm in 2022.
Other contenders include 33-year-old Czech athlete Jakub Vadlejch, who has silver medals at the Olympics, World and European Championships, with some bronze medals at the Worlds. He is fresh from finally striking gold at the European Championships last month.
Anderson Peters has his sights set on a third global title having returned to something like his best form after recovering from the severe injuries he sustained in August 2022 when he was beaten by five crew members of a party boat.
A 19-year-old, Max Dehning, who threw a world-leading 90.20m in February to break the European U23 record is also in the mix. His next-best throw this season has been 81.78m.
.jpg)
Before Yego, the world will eagerly wait for what Faith Kipyegon has up her sleeve as she guides Nelly Chepchirchir and Susan Ejore in qualifying for the women’s 1500m final.
The world record holder, looking to defend her title in her specialty, goes in heat 1 alongside Chepchirchir at 2035 hrs with Ejore in heat two at 2037hrs.
In the morning session, Kenyans will be on the look out for 800m debutant Koitatoi Kidali who will be in heat two of the repechage as he chases semis qualification. His race is set for 1308 hrs.
