Former world champion and Olympic silver medallist, Julius Yego, says he may not have gotten a medal in javelin this year, but he is happy with the results.
The podium at the Tokyo World Championships went to Keshorn Walcott (88.16m), Grenada's Anderson Peters (87.38m) and American Curtis Thompson (86.67m).
He said doing over 85metres on the first attempt, the second best this season, was exciting.
“I may be disappointed not finishing the competition, but the results were impressive. I did my second 85 this season, and I believe that was impressive,” he added.
“I was really feeling good before the final, but on my second attempt, the same injury (groin) I have been experiencing recurred again. I tried to go on the runway, but I felt sharp stomach pain.”
He insisted that he was feeling good during the warm-up and was psyched up for the championships.
The 2015 world champion said his priority at the moment was to return home and recover before embarking on the pre-season.
“Just want to go home, recover and pick up again,” he added.
He said such things do happen in sports, and there was no cause for alarm.
He said he will see the doctor to establish the extent of the injury, after which he will decide the way forward. “I hope it is not something serious. The pain is not what I felt in Rio 2016; I believe it’s something small that can be sorted.
Yego sealed his place in the men's javelin final after an 85.96m throw in round one of the qualification stages.
Yego was hoping to replicate his 2015 performance, where he unleashed a lifetime best of 92.72m to win gold.
His 2025 campaign began at the Doha Diamond League in May, where he threw 78.52m for ninth as Weber (91.06m) and Chopra (90.23m) electrified the field.
That outing was followed by a disappointing 74.71m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, where Brazil’s Luiz Mauricio da Silva (86.34m) claimed victory.
But the tide changed in June with Yego rediscovering his rhythm, winning the Motonet GP in Finland with 82.95m before improving to 83.08m at the Turku Continental meet, conquering a field that included 2012 Olympic champion Walcott.
He dipped again at the Paris Diamond League with 80.26m for sixth, but quickly bounced back at the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic in India, taking silver with a season-best 84.51m behind Chopra’s 86.18m.
In Brussels, he added another 80m-plus mark with an 80.50m fifth-place finish, in a meet won by Weber (89.65m) with Walcott and Grenada’s Anderson Peters rounding out the podium.
At the Zurich Diamond League final, he finished fifth with an 82.01m throw.
Meanwhile, Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi will be Kenya's sole representative in the two-lap event final on Saturday.
Wanyonyi placed second in his semi-final heat clocking 1:43.47 behind Spain's Mohamed Attaoui (1:43.18).
