Paris Olympics 2024: Neeraj Chopra wins gold at Paavo Nurmi Games

India’s ace javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra, won the gold medal at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, with a best throw of 85.97m.

The Tokyo Olympic gold medalist dominated a field of illustrious names, including German teenager Max Dehning, Oliver Helander, Anderson Peters and Keshorn Walcott.

Neeraj, who won the silver medal at the Paavo Nurmi Games in 2022, sent the javelin to 85.97m in his third attempt to lead the field and win the gold medal. Toni Keranen won the silver medal with a throw of 84.19m while Helander took the third spot with 83.96m.

The Paavo Nurmi Games is Neeraj’s third competition in the ongoing Olympic cycle. He started with the Doha Diamond League, where he finished second, and then won the gold medal at the National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar.

The ace Indian athlete threw 88.36m at the Doha Diamond League and produced an underwhelming effort of 82.27m at the Federation Cup.

At the Paavo Nurmi Games, Neeraj started with a throw of 83.62m and that put him in the lead in the first round itself. However, Helander grabbed the lead in the second throw when he sent the spear to a distance of 83.96m but Neeraj grabbed the lead back in the third throw of 85.97m, which eventually remained the highest in the Games.

All eyes were on German teenager Dehning, who is the youngest in the coveted 90m club, but he disappointed as he could not even breach the 80m mark, with 79.84m being his best of the night.

Two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada finished fourth with 82.58 m, while 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago came next with a throw of 81.93m.

Neeraj’s next competition is the Paris Diamond League before the prestigious 2024 Paris Olympics.