The Indian javelin thrower achieved a top throw of 83.80 meters, while Vadlejch clinched the title with an 84.24-meter attempt in Eugene.
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In the Diamond League 2023 Final in Eugene, Oregon, India’s Neeraj Chopra secured the second position in the men’s javelin throw event. He recorded his best throw of 83.80 meters on a Saturday.
Last year, Neeraj Chopra made history by becoming the first Indian to claim a Diamond League Trophy. However, this year, he couldn’t retain his title at Hayward Field. Instead, Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, a three-time Diamond League champion (in 2016, 2017, and now in 2023), secured his third title with a remarkable throw of 84.24 meters.
None of the athletes managed to surpass the 85-meter mark in Eugene. Neeraj Chopra, who holds the Indian national record of 89.94 meters, had previously won a silver medal at the world championship held at the same venue last year, recording an impressive throw of 88.13 meters.
The current Olympic and world champion, Neeraj Chopra, faced a foul on his initial attempt. However, in his second throw, the 25-year-old athlete marked a distance of 83.80 meters, securing the second position. Jakub Vadlejch, who began with an 84.01-meter effort, held the top spot.
Neeraj Chopra’s third attempt resulted in a throw of 81.37 meters. Unfortunately, he faced another foul on his fourth attempt. These performances allowed Jakub Vadlejch to maintain his lead, even though Neeraj Chopra had only one legal throw out of his first four attempts.
Jakub Vadlejch, the silver medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, achieved his best performance of the evening with his final attempt, securing a victory over Neeraj Chopra for the second time this year. Vadlejch had previously defeated Neeraj Chopra at the Zurich Diamond League last month as well.
| Neeraj Chopra’s marks at Diamond League 2023 Final in Eugene: No mark, 83.80m, 81.37m, No mark, 80.74m, 80.90m |
| Position | Javelin thrower | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) | 84.24m |
| 2 | Neeraj Chopra (IND) | 83.80m |
| 3 | Oliver Helander (FIN) | 83.74m |
| 4 | Andrian Mardare (MDA) | 81.79m |
| 5 | Curtis Thompson (USA) | 77.01m |
| 6 | Anderson Peters (GRN) | 74.71m |
Finland’s Oliver Helander secured the third position with an impressive throw of 83.74 meters.
Anderson Peters, a two-time world champion from Grenada, concluded in the sixth position with a throw of 74.71 meters.
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On his way to the final in Eugene, Neeraj Chopra secured victories in the Doha and Lausanne legs of the 2023 Diamond League series. However, he had to settle for the second position in Zurich. Chopra earned a total of 23 points from three meetings, which allowed him to qualify for the Diamond League Final. In contrast, Jakub Vadlejch, who participated in all four qualifying events, topped the rankings with 29 points.
Julian Weber, the champion of the European Games, finished second in the Diamond League series with a total of 25 points. Unfortunately, he missed the final due to an injury.
The Diamond League Final marked Neeraj Chopra’s second-to-last event of the season. His upcoming task is to defend his title at the Asian Games 2023, which are set to commence in Hangzhou later this month.