Neeraj Chopra wins silver medal at Paris 2024 Olympics javelin throw; Arshad Nadeem breaks record for gold - as it happened

By Anjishnu Roy
10 min|
Neeraj Chopra at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Picture by Reuters

Arshad Nadeem crowned Olympic champion in Paris, ends campaign with another 90m+ throw

Arshad Nadeem, who set an Olympic record of 92.97m with this second attempt to pull clear of the rest of the field, held on to secure the Olympic men's javelin throw gold medal. Pakistan's first Olympic medal winner since Barcelona 1992 ended the night with another gigantic 91.79m throw on his final attempt!

Even Nadeem's last throw would've seen him break the Olympic record held by Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway (90.57m in Beijing 2008) had it not been bettered by himself earlier in the final!

Neeraj Chopra settles for silver!

Neeraj Chopra fails to make it two gold medals in a row and despite the second-best throw of his career with 89.45m on his second attempt, it wasn't enough to beat Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan who crossed the 90m mark twice and set a massive Olympic record.

The 26-year-old becomes the fifth two-time Olympic medallist from India after adding a silver to his Tokyo 2020 gold medal. Only Norman Pritchard, Sushil Kumar, PV Sindhu and Manu Bhaker have achieved the same with the latter claiming two bronze medals at Paris 2024 Olympics.

He is also only the third athlete besides Sushil and Sindhu to win medals at two separate Summer Games.

Paris 2024 Olympics javelin throw final results

Bronze for Anderson Peters of Grenada!

Two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada took the bronze medal with a best attempt of 88.54m. He dislodged Jakub Vadlecjh of Czechia from the podium spots on his fourth attempt.

Yet another foul throw from Neeraj on his penultimate attempt

That's Neeraj Chopra's fourth invalid attempt from the five throws he has launched so far. Fortunately though for the 26-year-old, he is still occupying the second spot going in the final round. Neeraj needs another

Neeraj Chopra logs another foul on his fourth attempt

Three of Neeraj Chopra's four throws in the final have been no throws. He continues to maintain second place after the fourth attempt.

The top five throws in the men's javelin throw final at Paris 2024 have all been better than the 87.58m that won Neeraj the gold at Tokyo 2020. That is how intense the level of competition has been at the Stade de France in Paris.

Meanwhile, a distance of 3.52m separates topper Arshad Nadeem and second-placed Neeraj Chopra. Another 3.29m separates the Indian from Keshorn Walcott in the seventh spot.

Four athletes eliminated from the final after the first three rounds

The bottom four athletes after the first three attempts - Andrian Mardare (MDA), Mauricio da Silva (BRA), Toni Keranen (FIN) and Oliver Helander (FIN) - have been eliminated from the men's javelin throw final. They occupied the spots between 9th and 12th.

The rest of the athletes will continue to battle for the medals and will get three more throws each.

Neeraj Chopra fouls his third attempt

Neeraj didn't get enough on his third attempt which barely crossed the 80m mark. As a result, he stepped out and decided to not log the throw.

Neeraj Chopra surges to second place with second-best throw of career on his second attempt

Neeraj Chopra of India brought himself back into the game with a season's best of 89.45m on his second attempt to take the second place behind Arshad Nadeem. It is also the second-best throw of his career following the 89.94m at the Stockholm Diamond League.

The defending Olympic champion immediately waved to the fans gesturing them to calm down following his throw. He has looked sharp and will certainly be raring to better that effort in the subsequent throws.

Arshad Nadeem sets a new Olympic Record with 90m+ throw in the final

Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan stormed into the lead in the men's javelin throw final with a monster throw of 92.97m to set a new Olympic record! The previous Olympic record belonged to Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway with 90.57m at Beijing 2008.

The World Championships silver medallist becomes the fourth athlete to achieve the 90m mark in an Olympic men's javelin throw final.

Anderson Peters stretches his lead by some distance

Former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada stretched his lead in the Olympic final with an 87.87m on his second attempt. It beats Neeraj Chopra's Tokyo 2020 gold-medal-winning 87.58m throw by 29cm!

Neeraj Chopra begins the final with a no throw

Neeraj Chopra slipped towards the end of his throw on his initial attempt and it was ruled out as invalid. In comparison, the Indian athlete had taken the early lead in Tokyo 2020 with 87.03m on his first throw.

Earlier, Julian Weber of Germany and Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan also registered invalid attempts.

Neeraj Chopra's Paris 2024 Olympics javelin throw final now underway!

Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czechia kicks off the men's javelin throw final with an 80.15m throw. Anderson Peters of Grenada gets 84.70m to heat things up just after. Keshorn Walcott, throwing the third javelin of the night, laid down the early marker with an 86.16m.

Neeraj Chopra is in the house

The defending Olympic champion gets a loud reception from the Stade de France as he makes his entrace ahead of the men's javelin throw final.

Ticking down to the final

We are just minutes away from kicking off the men's javelin throw final where Neeraj Chopra will be looking to become the first Indian athlete to win two individual Olympic gold medals. We'll bring you the action live from the Stade de France in Paris!

Javelin throw record

As we count down to the main event, here’s a list of the men’s javelin throw records that will be in focus today at the Paris 2024 Olympics final.

Men’s javelin throw records

  • World record (WR): Jan Zelezny (CZE) - 98.48m
  • Olympic record (OR): Andreas Thorkildsen (DEN) - 90.57m

Neeraj Chopra’s achievements in a nutshell

  • Olympic champion - Tokyo 2020
  • World champion - Budapest 2023
  • Diamond League finals winner - Zurich 2022
  • World Championships silver medallist - Eugene 2022
  • Asian Games champion - Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2022
  • Commonwealth Games champion - Gold Coast 2018

Neeraj Chopra’s best throws in career

The 89.34m that Neeraj achieved in the qualification round is the second-best throw of his career. He has a personal best of 89.94m logged at the Stockholm Diamond League in 2022.

The Indian men’s javelin national record holder is yet to touch the hallowed 90m mark but has come close on several occasions.

Neeraj Chopra’s career-best throws

  • 89.94m - Stockholm Diamond League 2022 (June 30, 2022)
  • 89.34m - Paris 2024 Olympics Qualification (August 6, 2024)
  • 89.30m - Paavo Nurmi Games,Turku (June 14, 2022)
  • 89.08m - Lausanne Diamond League 2022 (August 26, 2022)

88.88m - Asian Games 2023, Hangzhou (October 4, 2023)

Neeraj Chopra’s form in 2024

Neeraj Chopra began the season in style with a gigantic 88.36m at the Doha Diamond League in May. However, he could only manage a second-place finish with Julian Weber of Germany recording an 88.38m.

He returned to domestic competition in India for the first time since Tokyo 2020 at the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar. Although he could only manage an 82.27m throw, it was good enough to secure first place.

Neeraj pulled out of the Ostrava Golden Spike meet in Czechia to mitigate an injury risk. He returned to competitive action with an 85.97m to take the top spot at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland in June.

Neeraj Chopra’s 2024 results and marks

  • Doha Diamond League 2024 - 2nd (88.36m)
  • National Federation Cup Athletics 2024 - 1st (82.27m)
  • Paavo Nurmi Games 2024 - 1st (85.97m)

Neeraj Chopra’s challengers in javelin throw final

In his Olympic title defence, Neeraj Chopra is expected to face a tough challenge from Anderson Peters of Grenada. The two-time world champion logged the second-best throw in the qualification rounds and achieved a monster mark of 88.36m. He is ranked world No. 6.

Julian Weber of Germany, ranked third, is also a strong contender and he achieved an 87.76m throw on his very first attempt in the qualification rounds. Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czechia will also be in contention. The world No. 1 logged an 85.63m throw in the qualifying round.

Neeraj Chopra will also resume his javelin throw rivalry with Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan. He is the reigning Commonwealth champion and also finished second at the 2023 World Championships where Neeraj won gold.

Paris 2024 Olympics javelin throw final - order

Neeraj Chopra will start eighth in the javelin throw order today.

  1. Jakub Vadlejch (CZE)
  2. Anderson Peters (GRN)
  3. Keshorn Walcott (TTO)
  4. Arshad Nadeem (PAK)
  5. Julian Weber (GER)
  6. Julius Yego (KEN)
  7. Lassi Etelatalo (FIN)
  8. Neeraj Chopra (IND)
  9. Andrian Mardare (MDA)
  10. Oliver Helander (FIN)
  11. Luiz Mauricio da Silva (BRA)
  12. Toni Keranen (FIN)

Olympics javelin throw final rules and how it works

From the qualification field of 32, the top 12 athletes made it to the final. The javelin throwers qualified by either achieving the direct qualification standard of 84m or by finishing among the 12 best athletes.

In the final, all 12 athletes will each get three throws and they will get ranked according to their best attempt. After the first three throws, the four athletes at the bottom will get eliminated and the remaining athletes will continue with another three throws each.

At the end of the six throws, the top three athletes with the best attempts will finish on the Olympic podium.

How Neeraj Chopra qualified for the Olympics javelin throw final

Ranked world No. 2, India’s Neeraj Chopra stormed into the final with a monster 89.34m throw on his very first attempt. He obliterated the rest of the qualification field and took the top spot in the process. It was also the second-best throw of his career.

Besides Neeraj, Anderson Peters (GRN), Julian Weber (GER), Arshad Nadeem (PAK), Julius Yego (KEN), Mauricio da Silva (BRA), Jakub Vadlejch (CZE), Toni Keranen (FIN), Andrian Mardare (MDA) achieved the direct qualification mark of 84m.

The other javelin throw athletes qualified on the basis of finishing among the top 12 competitors.

Where to watch Neeraj Chopra’s 2024 Olympics final live in India

Live streaming of Neeraj Chopra’s Paris 2024 Olympics final will be available for free on Jio Cinema in India. The men’s javelin throw final will be telecast live on Sports 18 Network TV channel in India.

Welcome to Neeraj Chopra’s Olympic title defence!

Hello to all and welcome to the Olympics.com’s live coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics men’s javelin throw finals from the Stade de France in Paris, France. Neeraj Chopra, who became the second individual Olympic gold medal winner from India, will be defending his title against a strong field of 12 competitors.

The men’s javelin throw final at the Paris 2024 Olympics starts at 11:55 PM in India today.

Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal in the same event at Tokyo 2020 just over three years ago. The 26-year-old secured the top spot on the podium with an 87.58m throw in the javelin final.

He became only the second Indian after Abhinav Bindra to claim an individual Olympic gold medal. Neeraj is the only track and field athlete from independent India to medal at the Summer Games.

Since then, he has become a world champion, a Diamond League winner and also successfully defended his Asian Games title in Hangzhou. Neeraj also won the Commonwealth title in 2018.