Olympics
Exclusive: Javelin man Julius Yego Slams Critics after a Strong Show in Paris
Former World Javelin champion Julius Yego addresses critics after placing fifth at the Paris 2024 Olympics, saying he's far from done and plans to continue competing at the highest level
Image Credits: NOCK Media
Former World Javelin champion Julius Yego says no one can stop him from doing what he loves most, competing in the track event at the highest level.
Following a season ravaged with injuries and poor form, critics had written him off ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games but the 35-year old bounced back to finish fifth in the final, after registering a season’s best throw of 87.72 metres.
Yego, the 2015 world champion,has told SportsBoom.com in an exclusive interview that he is not slowing down anytime soon and will still compete at the highest level despite hiccups that threatened to derail him at the beginning of the season.
Injury Scare
An injury suffered during the 2024 Kip Keino Classic had limited his participation in local and international competitions and there was doubt if he could stage a good performance in Paris.
“The season began very badly for me and the injury suffered during the Kip Keino Classic was a real scare for me,” Yego told SportsBoom.com.
I suffered a bad injury in 2016 and I have not really gotten over it. When I hurt my ankle at the Kip Keino Classic, it became another setback but I still believed that I could pull out something special in the Olympics and I am glad it happened.
Julius Yego
Yego Answers Critics
Over the years, the outspoken Yego, who perfected his Javelin skills by watching YouTube clips, has been accused of being radical and loud in his comments, something he says he is not going to stop for it has made him who is.
The 35 year-old said,”You cannot stop me from doing what I love. In this world we have people with negative thoughts. You cannot stop them. You just have to do what you have to do and prove them wrong.”
“I like talking about athletes' welfare and I will not back down. Gone are times where we were gagged and told not to speak. When we have a good environment then it is easy for us to even perform better in competitions.”
Paris 2024 Olympics Performance
During the Paris Olympics, Yego pulled a massive throw of 85.57 metres to qualify for the final and that alone was enough motivation for him after an injury-marred season.
“Having a massive throw of 87.72 metres to finish fifth in the Olympics javelin final is the highest point for me after a very long time,” he said.
My body responded appropriately and that is something I will be grateful for in my lifetime. I am planning to compete more in the Diamond League circuit and also prepare for the World Athletics Champions to be held in Japan next year.
Julius Yego
On the Sport Growing Globally
Yego, an Olympic Games silver medalist in 2016 however believes that the sport has grown from the time he lifted the title in 2015 with many record breakers coming out of Europe.
“Of course the Javelin level has really grown. If you go back to 2015 when I won the world championship and an Egyptian (Ihab Abdelrahman) came in second and now we have an Olympic champion from Pakistan (Arshad Nadeem) with no European in the top three in Paris” he continued.
A near podium finish in Paris was enough for Yego to book a ticket to the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships. The YouTube man won gold in Javelin during the 2015 World Athletics Championships held in Beijing, China before clinching silver in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
He is a former Commonwealth Games champion and a five-time African champion in the sport.
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