After kicking off his season with a world-leading effort of 88.67m in the Doha leg of the 2023 Diamond League, Tokyo 2020 Olympic javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra finished atop yet again, in Lausanne, with a throw of 87.66m on his fifth attempt. It was the third time Neeraj Chopra won a Diamond League meeting in his career. His first victory came in the same city a year back. On the other hand, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, who had finished in the third spot in Paris earlier in June with a jump of 8.09m, failed to emulate that performance on Friday as he ended in the fifth spot with a best attempt of 7.88m on his third try.
For an athlete who loves to start strong, Neeraj did not have the ideal beginning to his campaign in Lausanne as his first attempt was a foul throw. He registered his first legal throw on the second attempt with an 83.52m throw, which did put him on board, but in an unfamiliar territory, as he stood third behind Julian Weber (86.20m) and Jakub Vadlejch (84.71m).
With an attempt of 85.04m on his third try, the India star moved past Vadlejch to take the second spot. The 25-year-old had the opportunity to grab the top spot with Weber failing to better his mark, but he couldn't register a legal throw. But eventually took the lead on his fifth attempt with a throw of 87.66m. Weber finished second despite having bettered his mark in the final attempt with a throw of 87.03m while Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Vadlejch finished third with his best attempt of 86.13 in his sixth throw.
Watch Neeraj's outstanding effort:
Having earlier also won the Doha Diamond League event, Chopra is currently leading the standings, with eight points, followed by Vadlejch with seven points, and Peters with six points. The Indian superstar will be looking to further establish his ascendancy and dominance in the prestigious one-day event series, having won the Diamond League trophy last year.
{{/usCountry}}Having earlier also won the Doha Diamond League event, Chopra is currently leading the standings, with eight points, followed by Vadlejch with seven points, and Peters with six points. The Indian superstar will be looking to further establish his ascendancy and dominance in the prestigious one-day event series, having won the Diamond League trophy last year.
{{/usCountry}}Following the Lausanne event, men's javelin throw will also be a part of the competition in the Monaco and Zurich legs on July 21 and August 31 before the Diamond League grand finale in Eugene, USA, on September 16-17.