Neeraj Chopra Highlights, Javelin Throw Final, Paris 2024 Olympics: Arshad Nadeem takes gold with new Olympic Record, Neeraj Chopra wins silver with 89.45m

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Paris 2024 Olympics Medal Tally after Day 13: USA back on top of standings; India rises to 64th after Neeraj Chopra wins silver

United States reclaimed the top position in the Paris Olympics medal tally on Thursday, taking its haul to 30 gold, 38 silver and 35 bronze.

All done for the day. The elusive gold remains elusive for India as we head into August 9. That Neeraj’s silver hurts to this extent, shows the levels he has taken the sport to. 

The hockey bronze was like a whiff of fresh air and India can hope for another medal as Aman takes on Darian Toi Cruz in the bronze medal match later today. 

We will also have the 4x400m teams in action tomorrow alongside Diksha Dagar and Aditi Ashok in golf. Be back soon. Ciao!

(Photo Credit: PTI)

(Photo credit: Paris 2024)

What is up with this fella? The new Olympic champion gets a 91.79m. ANOTHER 90? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? He crashes onto the floor, trying to comprehend what just happened. He sends up a silent prayer to the heavens after which the other players rush over to congratulate the man.

He tugs at the crowd for support. They respond positively. Can he? Can he go where he has never ventured? A poor release and it is another X.

That the whole of India is disappointed with silver tells you the heights this man has taken the sport to.

Nevertheless, he has etched his name in history books once again. More on his records in a while.

And it is bronze for Peters as he will have to stay content with his best mark of 88.54m after getting an 81.83m in his last!

5 centimeters and beyond might get him a medal. Can he? An 83.27m means the medals are decided. Only the colours remain to be found out.

Yego gets 81.58m. That will be it from the Kenyan who was coming on the back of an injury.

A shake of the head from the German, who is a three-time Olympic finalist. An 84.09m to wrap things up.

Walcott finishes 7th with a best throw of 86.16m. Hope it isn’t an injury.

Etelatalo prepares for the final throw. Just over 80m. Won’t go beyond his 84.58m. The European champion acknowledges the crowd before abandoning the runway.

84.87m from the possible gold medallist. One more throw to go.

He is immensely frustrated as he crosses over the line once again. It’s beginning to slip away from him.

84.98 from Vadlejch. Not good enough. Stays fourth.

He is having to wait for the women’s 400m hurdles final. No improvement on 88.54m from Peters but bigger news coming in from the hurdles event. Sydney MacLaughlin has taken the gold with a WR of 50.37.

83.20m from Yego. High and looping once again from the former World Champ.

A slap of the bicep from Weber. The crowd cheers him on as the announcer mouths his name. Not too bad. 87.40m. This is his best throw but there will be no change in rankings.

Not at all in his best shape today is Walcott. 76.86m

An X for Etelatalo off his fifth attempt.

The new OR holder has just thrown a 79.40m. He has a wry smile pasted on his lips.

Neeraj rolls over the line. So, we still have only one legitimate throw from the man tonight off four attempts.

Ouch! A ‘no throw’ from Vadlejch. That would hurt.

The audience gets behind Peters. And that’s a big throw. But is it good enough to displace Vadlejch from the medals? 88.54. It is.

An early release and it will be just short of the 85m mark. We wait for the exact readings. 84.90m.

86.85 for Weber but that won’t be enough to beat his second attempt.

Things not looking good for Walcott. 78.96m.

The order of throws will now be the leaderboard seen in reverse. Which means, 8th-placed Etelatalo will be taking the first throw. 82.02m it is.

(Photo Credit: Paris 2024)

An improvement of around 4m? Looks up hopefully and Keranen won’t be able to replace Etelatalo. 78.90m it is.

Da Silva, on debut, gets a red flag off his last throw. His competition is over.

84.58 or bigger to stay alive. Can Helander do it? No! An X means 82.68m will be his best throw of the night. His teammate Etelatalo is the one who will just manage to scrape through as things stand.

The 200m of Heptathlon begins. We wait. Mardrare waits. This will be the end of the road for him with a 77.77m attempt. He stays last.

He decides to walk over the mark to voluntarily not record the throw. It was less than 80m.

Etelatalo with an 84.58m. That will push his compatriots Keranen and Helander below his standing.

A good run-up but not enough power. ‘No throw’ for the Kenyan.

Weber loses footing and he crosses the touchline. X. 87.33m will remain his best in the first three. We are set to lose four athletes after this round.

This is big again. We will know how big in moments from now. A shake of the head in frustration. It’s an 88.72m. It will be difficult for him to better his own mark to be honest.

An 82.89m. Was occupying the top spot a while back, but he has sunk to 7th now.

A no throw from Peters as he touches the baseline.

Vadlejch gets ready to get the third series rolling. The audience gets behind him. He has improved on the first-round throw. Can he get another boost? This one’s big but will it be enough? 88.50m! Yet another improvement...

Falls over during the launch but that won’t do. 75.33 only.

Da Silva with a mechanical run-up and that will get him only 78.67. 2m short of his first mark.

Not quite what he wanted. 82.68m for Helander.

Mardare improves but only slightly. 80.10m for him.

Neeraj is all pumped up! An awkward run-up but that has gone soaring into the stratosphere. 89.45 and that will be his season best. He gestures the crowd to egg him on.

Etelatalo is still struggling to get past 80. 77.60m.

Nadeem has sparked some life into this competition. 87.72m from Yego and into third he goes.

Not too bad. He will take an 87.33m

WHAT WAS THAT? WHAT WAS THAAAAAT? Nadeem gets the Olympic Record. It is a 92+. OH MY GOD! The Worlds silver medallist has a 92.97m. A personal best as well. He has his face buried in his hands. He himself cannot believe what he has just done.

The flag goes up for Walcott. X

Peters jumps into the lead! A big 87.87m. There is hardly any emotion on the mans face.

Vadlejch is back. A big improvement on his first attempt. 84.52m and he moves into the bronze medal position.

Keranen gets past 80. We will wait for an official confirmation. 80.92, the board reads.

Another flat attempt from Da Silva. 25.20 degrees exactly once again. It’s an 80.67.

A flat 25.20 degree throw from Helander. It will be 81.24m.

Mardare gets a 79.14m. Meanwhile, Noah Lyles has lost the 200m final. Letsile Tebogo takes the gold. 

Not to happy with his first effort. A decent throw but his momentum sees him slip and tumble. It’s unfortunately a foul. “Was an 86+,” says Jonathan from the venue.

Etelatalo looks visibly disappointed as he manages a 78.81.

There’s a brief hold-up for the 200m men’s final. A long, long run-up culminates into a scream from the Kenyan as he launches the spear into the Parisian sky. Manages only an 80.29m.

Close to the line and that will be a red flag for the German in his first attempt.

Nadeem fumbles the load-up and returns to the start mark. He retakes the attempt but it will be a ‘No Throw’.

And that is well over 85m. The spear was sent flying at 104.6kph at 29 degrees. 86.16m. That is his season best!

And he is off the mark, lands just short of 85m. We are waiting for the official confirmation. 84.70m it is.

The athletes split up to occupy their designated spots. Vadlejch up first. And he just manages a throw of 80.15m.

The players walk out of the tunnel amid loud applause. The loudest of greetings are reserved for Neeraj, who waves to the crowd before folding his hands into a namaste and bowing to acknowledge the reception.

”Athletes have begun taking practise throws at the Stade de France before the javelin finals. Caveat - they aren’t really focussing on finding the foul line. Approx distances -- Weber 89-90m, Anderson Peters 82+, Yego 85m, Arshad 77, Neeraj 86+,” Jonathan has posted on X.

A spectator tweets that Neeraj has made his first training throw post some stretches.

Neeraj is in the house, ladies and gentlemen! He can be seen putting on his kicks in the change room.

Last but not the least, Anderson Peters , who currently occupies the number 6 position in the world rankings, has an impressive PB of 93.07m.

Peters came the closest to Neeraj in the qualification round, registering a season best 88.63m throw.

(Photo credit: Reuters)

The World No. 3 finished fourth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

His personal best is 89.54m and his best for the season is 88.37m.

The German qualified for the final with a throw of 87.76m.

(Photo Credit: AP)

Czechia’s Vadlejch ran Chopra the closest in Tokyo, winning silver. 

He comes into Paris ranked number one in the world. He has a personal best of 90.88m and a season best of 88.65m.

The 33-year-old too qualified for the final with a single throw, registering a 85.63m throw, ahead of the automatic qualification mark of 84m.

(Photo Credit: AP)

Arshad Nadeem - Pakistan

Nadeem gave Neeraj stiff competition in the past at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. 

Nadeem finished fifth in Tokyo, and though he does not have a world rank, he comes into the Olympics with a personal best of 90.18m and a season best of 84.21m.

The 27-year-old registered a season-best 86.59m on his first throw to qualify for the final.

(Photo Credit: AP)

• 89.94m - Diamond League, Stockholm
• 89.34m - Paris Olympics (Qualification)
• 89.30m - Paavo Nurmi Games
• 89.08m - Diamond League, Lausanne
• 88.88m - Asian Games, Hangzhou

A total of 12 athletes will take part in the final by virtue of having finished in the top six of their groups in the qualification. 

Czechia’s Jakub Vadlejch, Germany’s Julian Weber and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem are expected to be some of Chopra’s biggest rivals for the gold medal.

How many throws does each athlete get?

The final consists of six rounds of one throw each. After the end of these six rounds, the athlete with the longest valid throw is declared as the winner.

Is there any elimination involved?

There is an elimination aspect involved. At the end of the first three rounds, the best throws of all the athletes are ranked, and the bottom four are eliminated. 

The remaining eight athletes will compete over three more rounds. However, scores from the first three rounds are still considered for ranking.

What happens if there is a tie?

In the case of a tie, the athlete with a better second-best throw is given the higher position. 

Neeraj’s event is set to start at 11:55PM IST.

Neeraj’s event will take place at the Stade de France - the country’s largest stadium. 

Built in Saint-Denis, the venue was designed by architects Macary, Zublena, Regembal and Costantini for the 1998 Football World Cup.

Welcome to the live coverage of the javelin throw final. Neeraj Chopra, defending Olympic champion, will be the only Indian in action in the event.

On Tuesday, Neeraj made a qualification throw of 89.34m in Paris, much higher than the automatic mark of 84.00m, to advance to the final and raised hopes of securing back-to-back first-place finishes at the Summer Games.