Former world champion and 2016 Olympic silver medallist Julius Yego believes he is finally finding his rhythm ahead of the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships, following an impressive return to form in Finland.
Competing at the Motonet GP Lahti on Wednesday, the Kenyan javelin ace unleashed a season-best throw of 82.95m to claim top honours, a timely boost in confidence after a rocky start to the season.
Trinidad and Tobago's Keshorn Walcott finished second with a 79.98m throw, with home town star Taneli Juutinen completing the podium with a 78.24m throw.
Yego was pleased to have lowered his season best in his first European tour. "First European Tour and a win with a season best throw," Yego shared on his socials.
He believes his rhythm is slowly coming back following a dismal display in his previous competitions. "My rhythm is better, and I can see some improvement from the last competition," he added.
Yego’s 2025 campaign has been anything but smooth. He opened the year with a ninth-place finish at the Doha Diamond League on May 16, managing a modest 78.52m. Hopes were high for redemption on home soil at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi two weeks later, but he could only manage fifth with a 78.74m effort.
Brazil's Luiz Mauricio da Silva set a personal best and South American record after throwing 86.34m ahead of 2016 Olympic Champion Thomas Rohler (80.79m) and Portugal's Leandro Ramos (80.68m). Now, buoyed by his win in Lahti, Yego is eyeing further progress ahead of his next major assignments.
"Onto the next competition as I gear up for the main event in September (the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo). Patience and practice are key," Yego added.
Yego is part of an elite cast of throwers expected to feature at the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic on July 5 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, India.
The list includes Chopra, the 2020 Olympic champion, Olympic bronze medallist Anderson Peters of Grenada, Rohler, da Silva and American Curtis Thompson.
A veteran of six World Championships, Yego will be aiming to roll back the years in Tokyo, where he seeks to rediscover his massive throw for the first time since 2015 — his most glorious moment on the global stage.
That year, he threw a lifetime best of 92.72m in Beijing to become Kenya’s first and only field event world champion. In Beijing, he led Egypt's Ihab Abdelrahman (88.99m) and Finland's Tero Pitkamaki (87.64m).
His most recent appearances on the global stage have, however, been disappointing. In Budapest 2023, Yego failed to make the finals after throwing 78.42 in the qualifiers.
Chopra (88.17m), Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem (87.82m) and the Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch (86.67m) claimed the podium. In Eugene 2022, he was also eliminated in the qualifier rounds after managing a 79.60m throw.
Doha 2019 saw him record a No Mark (NM) in the finals, where Peters (86.89m), Estonia's Magnus Kirt (86.21m) and Germany's Johannes Vetter (85.37m) completed the podium. London 2017 saw him place last with a 76.29m throw.
During his maiden World Championship appearance in Moscow 2013, Yego narrowly missed the podium after placing fourth with an 85.40m throw.
Czech Republic's Vitezslav Vesely (87.17m) claimed gold with Pitkamaki (87.07m) and Russia's Dmitriy Tarabin (86.23m) settling for silver and bronze.
