The 2024 Paris Olympics saw Pakistan win their first-ever gold medal in an individual
sport. Who achieved this accomplishment? Javelin’s world number one, Arshad
Nadeem.
Nadeem threw an Olympic record 92.97 metres, beating the 16-year record
previously held by Andreas Thorkildsen. The Norwegian threw a 90.57m javelin at
the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Pakistan’s previous gold medal was won 41 years prior to Nadeem’s, in Los Angeles
back in 1984. The country’s hockey team won gold in the United States of America in
the 20th century.
The 28-year-old was born in Khanewal, Pakistan, on 2nd January 1997. Just 10 years
ago was when Nadeem decided to take up the sport, and he was fortunate to see a
staggering rise through the ranks of the sport. But it has not always been easy for
him, which makes his success even sweeter.
He has competed at two Olympic games, with his first being in 2020. A fifth-place
finish was superbly bettered last year, as he sealed gold on his return to the games.
Nadeem threw a score of over three metres better than Neeraj Chopra, who finished
second place. Chopra secured a silver medal at the 2024 games, which was one of
India’s six medals in Paris, but it was the only one to not be bronze. The second-
place finish at last year’s games was one step below where Chopra finished in 2020,
as he won gold in Tokyo.
The victory was significant for Nadeem the Olympic record breaker, as he for the first
time in 10 outings was victorious against Neeraj Chopra. If there was one stage to do
it on, the Olympic stage was the place to do it.
Pakistan’s gold medalist is focusing on the upcoming Asian Athletics championships
which take place between 27-31 May. His coaches said he is aiming to prioritise
peak performance at the upcoming championship in South Korea over the Diamond
League, which is an event for world track and field stars to compete in. This helps to
keep athletes sharp and to compete against one another.
The upcoming events in South Korea will be a benchmark to see where the world’s
best javelin athletes are in comparison to others. All eyes will be on the world
number one, who has not competed recently due to his planned training regime,
which saw him miss out on the Doha Diamond League.
In the most recent league results, Germany’s Julian Weber threw a personal best
91.06m javelin. He pipped Olympic silver medalist Neeraj Chopra to first, by 0.83m.
India’s Chopra, aged 27, will be aiming to try and regain his world number one title
in three years time, but Arshad Nadeem will aim to try and retain it. The
competitiveness between the South Asian duo not only benefits the sport but it
benefits themselves. Pushing each other to the limits in the games gives the best
viewing and sets the best records.
With less than a year between their ages, the pair are tightly contested in every
aspect of their game.
The 2028 Olympic games could see the peak of the pair on a competitive level, with
both having impressive 12 months.
First and second at the Olympics, personal and national records being set and peak years ahead of them the next Olympics will be looked at already as the end goal in terms of success by them both.
Will Los Angeles have a fairytale story for Pakistan again at the Olympic games, or
will Neeraj Chopra win back his gold medal that he lost at the last competition?
