By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Arshad Nadeem etched his name in the stars on Thursday night, winning the men’s javelin throw final at the Olympic Games with a record-breaking throw of 92.97 meters, becoming the first track and field athlete from Pakistan to win a gold medal.
The monumental performance shattered a 32-year medal drought for the nation.
Nadeem, 27, who finished fifth in Tokyo with a throw of 84.62 meters and won silver at the world championships in 2023, threw his arms up in celebration and near disbelief when the record flashed up on the board, confirming that it was the longest throw in the world this year and a new record for Olympics in the Stade de France.
Nadeem knelt and kissed the ground after his top rival’s failed last attempt sealed his victory.
“Like Zeus with a spear of lightning, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem cracked open the men’s javelin competition at @Paris2024 with one mighty blow, leaving his competitors shaken,” World Athletics said on X post.
The record of 90.57 meters, held by Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen since Bejing 2008, receded into the rearview mirror as Nadeem put body and soul into his second throw, shocked delight rising from the stands when the distance came up: 92.97 meters.
“When I threw the javelin, I got the feel of it leaving my hand, and sensed it could be an Olympic record, inshallah (God willing),” Nadeem said, through a translator, of his record effort. “God indeed made it an Olympic record.”
And he did it with panache, beating his longtime rival and equally longtime Indian friend Neeraj Chopra. Nadeem virtually killed the competition on his second turn, unleashing a monster heave leaving everyone in the stadium stunned.
Nadeem’s victory marks Pakistan’s first Olympic medal since 1992, when the country won a bronze medal in men’s hockey in Barcelona. With his record-breaking throw, he became only the fourth athlete to cross the 90 meters mark in the men’s javelin at the Olympic Games. Before Nadeem, Pakistan had never won Olympic gold or silver in individual events.
The Mian Channu-born javelin great rebounded from a disappointing opening attempt that resulted in a no-throw to unleash a monstrous throw on his second attempt, leaving the crowd and commentators in awe. And nobody else could get close to him after that.
That gigantic throw of 92.97 meters put Nadeem at the top of the standings and he remained in that position managing throws of 88,72 meters, 79.40 meters, and 84.87 meters and then ended the competition with a throw of 91.79 meters, the second time somebody crossed the 90 meters mark twice in the Olympics.
Chopra, who also had a foul throw on his first attempt, managed a best throw of 89.45 meters on his second attempt to take home the silver medal. Grenada’s Anderson Peters rounded out the podium, claiming his first-ever Olympic medal with a bronze finish and a throw of 88.54 meters.
Nobel laureate and education rights campaign Malala Yousafzai congratulated Nadeem: “You made history and will continue to be a champion and legend inspiring young Pakistanis to believe in their dreams,” she wrote on the social media platform X.
The feat prompted praise from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who said “you’ve made a whole nation proud young man.”
Nadeem was Pakistan’s flag bearer during the opening ceremony in Paris. He played age-group cricket at the state level until he took up throwing sports, starting with shot put and discus.
“On August 14, we are going to celebrate our Independence Day, and this is a special gift to the nation from me,” Nadeem said when asked what the medal means to him and Pakistan. “We will all celebrate this medal together when I’m back in Pakistan.”
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