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At the Rio Olympics in 2016, a 90.30m throw by Thomas Rohler won him gold in javelin, but things will be different at the Tokyo Olympics. One of the main reasons is Rohler’s compatriot Johannes Vetter. The 6’1″ athlete has already crossed the 90m-mark a whopping seven times this year and is considered one of the top favorites to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
A lot has changed in the past five years, as have the medal prospects. Apart from Rohler and Vetter, several others have excelled in the sport in recent times and could be a threat in the quadrennial event. Dominated by the Europeans in recent times, the chain was broken last time out, when Julius Yego (Kenya) and Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad and Tobago) won silver and bronze medals respectively in Rio de Janeiro.
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At the Tokyo Olympics, the world will see some of the known javelin faces along with several new ones who will be participating in their maiden Olympics. To date, 21 javelin throwers have booked their spots at the sport's grandest stage, with 11 more to join after the World Athletics rankings come out next month.
With less than two months to go before the Tokyo Olympics, we take a look at some of the top men's medal prospects:
Magnus Kirt - Estonia
One of the oldest horses in the sport, Magnus Kirt has been on the circuit for a decade now, but only featured in newspaper headlines following the Rio Olympics. Following a 23rd-place finish in the qualification round, he has reinvented himself to be one of the top athletes in the world.
The Estonian, who finished 11th at the 2017 World Championship, made a drastic improvement and shocked everyone when he claimed bronze at the European Championships in Berlin in 2018. The following year, Kirt grabbed silver at the World Championships in Doha with a throw of 86.21m.
His 90.61m throw at the 2019 Kuortane Games in Finland is an Estonian national record. Since 2018, Kirt has been on the podium six times across various meets and will be one to look out for at the Tokyo Olympics.
Andreas Hofmann - Germany
Like Vetter and Rohler, Andreas Hofmann too could be a threat at the Tokyo Olympics. The 6’5’’ athlete has been hitting the 85m-mark since 2014 and but has never won an Olympics or World Championships medal to date. He had a personal best of 92.06m in Offenburg in 2018. The only other time Hofmann breached the 90m-mark was in 2017 (91.07m).
Anderson Peters - Grenada
At 23, Grenadian Anderson Peters is the current world champion, with a personal best of 87.31m at the 2019 Pan American Games. A multiple gold medallist at the CARIFTA Games, Peters is known for rising to the occasion at major events and will be hoping to do so again at the Tokyo Olympics.
Thomas Rohler - Germany
The name at the back of everyone's mind! One of the favorites to finish on the Tokyo Olympics podium, Thomas Rohler will be defending his Olympic title in two months' time. With so many 90m throws this season by compatriot Johannes Vetter, the ace javelin thrower will have to up his game by a considerable margin to edge out the others.
Having said that, Rohler has covered a distance of 93.90m in the past (2017) and needs to bring his A-game forward to challenge a line-up full of stars. He had a phenomenal 2018, winning two gold medals at the European Championships and Continental Cup.
Johannes Vetter - Germany
At 28, Johannes Vetter has taken the whole world by storm with his consistent 90m throws this season and is poised to unleash some massive throws at the Tokyo Olympics.
In 2021, Vetter threw 91.50m (Ursapharm Speerurmeeting, Offenburg), 91.12m, 90.43m (European Throwing Cup), 94.20m, 93.20m (Continental Tour, Ostrava) and 91.86m, 93.20m (Continental Tour, Dessau). He also has a personal best of 97.76m, which he achieved last year.
