Gold: Thomas Rohler (GER), 90.30m
Silver: Julius Yego (KEN), 88.24m
Bronze: Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad & Tobago), 85.38m
It was a night of the expected in the men’s javelin throw, with no black horse medal winners coming out of the woodwork to challenge the favorites for a place on the podium.
For a bit, it looked as though Kenya’s Julius Yego – who many know as “Mr. YouTube” because he learned to throw the javelin by watching YouTube videos – might come out on top, after throwing a season-best 88.24m in his first attempt. Unfortunately, he had to be wheeled out of the stadium in a wheelchair due to an ankle injury. But his first throw held up, as he finished with the silver.
The only one who was able to catch him was Germany’s Thomas Rohler, who owns the two top throws in the world this year and was the gold medal favorite coming into Rio. It was only in his fifth attempt that he was able to overtake Yego, throwing for 90.30m.
Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, the reigning Olympic champion, was able to stay on the podium for a second straight Olympic games, just beating out fourth-place Johannes Vetter of Germany by 0.06m for the bronze medal.
The Czech Republic’s Vitezlav Vesely, however, who was predicted to finish on the podium, finished only in seventh, with a mark of 82.51m.
On the women’s side, Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic took the bronze behind Croatia’s Sara Kolak and South Africa’s Sunette Viljoen.