Johannes VETTER

The string of performances saw him breach the qualifying mark for the Rio 2016 Olympics and represent his country in men’s javelin throw at the Summer Games in Brazil, alongside Julian Weber and eventual gold medallist Thomas Rohler.

Leading up to his Olympic debut, Vetter won the Kuortane Games in Finland with a new personal best of 88.23m but his Rio venture ended in heartbreak as his best attempt of 85.32m in the final fell six centimetres short of a medal position.

In 2017, Vetter won the German championship for the first time on July 9 and just two days later, breached the 90m mark for the first time at the Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern. In fact, he did it four times in the same competition, logging 90.75m, 91.06m, 93.06m and 94.44m, with the final one handing him the new German record as well at Rohler’s expense.

Just a month later, Vetter became the world champion for the first time in London with a best mark of 89.89m, beating Czechia’s Jakub Vadlejch and Petr Frydrych to the top podium.

Vetter won his second world championships medal, a bronze, at the 2019 Doha worlds. In 2020, at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Chorzow, Poland, Vetter landed 72 centimetres shy of history.

His winning throw measuring 97.76m is the closest any man has come to Jan Zelezny’s world men’s javelin throw world record of 98.48m from 1996. In fact, Vetter also holds the third-best throw in history courtesy of his 96.29m at the European Athletics Team Championships Super League 2021, also held at Chorzow.

On the back of his mammoth throws, Vetter was the undisputed favourite going into the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which was held in 2021 due to COVID-19. Things, however, didn’t go the German’s way in the main event as he failed to qualify for the final and finished ninth overall.

The German ace bounced back strongly from the heartbreak a month later by winning the Diamond League 2021 final in Zurich, Switzerland.

Since 2022, though, bouts with injuries have seen Vetter struggle and make very limited competitive outings. He was unable to make the German contingent for Paris 2024.