Julius Yego out to leave a mark in Beijing
What you need to know:
- Yego is Kenya’s only representative at the Worlds in javelin after winning the national trials in a throw on 83.10m last weekend.
- Yego, who is the reigning African champion, said the athlete with the best technic of the day will win in Beijing.
- He finished a distant sixth with a throw of 81.79 in Monaco on July 17.
Diamond League javelin record-holder Julius Yego will be seeking to re-write the sport’s history books when he fields at the World Championships slated for August 22 to 30 in Beijing, China.
Even though the burly police officer isn’t looking for another record, victory will make him the first African to hold a world title in the event as he makes his second appearance at the Worlds.
“It’s my prayer that God will keep me in good health to be able to see the day and plough a perfect throw,” said Yego, christened “The YouTube Man” by his fans.
Yego is Kenya’s only representative at the Worlds in javelin after winning the national trials in a throw on 83.10m last weekend.
“Everybody will be going for a good throw and so is Yego,” said the 26-year-old, who finished fourth on his debut at the 2013 Moscow World Championships before becoming the first African to win the Commonwealth Games title in Glasgow last year.
“I cannot talk about a record since no one knows when he will throw a big distance. It comes by chance,” said Yego, the first Kenyan to compete in field events at the Olympics during the 2012 London Games where he settled 12th overall.
Yego, who is the reigning African champion, said the athlete with the best technic of the day will win in Beijing.
“The fact that I am heading to Beijing with a Diamond League record doesn’t make me the favourite,” said Yego, who has broken the Kenyan record four times in the last four years.
Yego started his season in Doha with a sixth placing of 81.98 on May 15 before turning out in an impressive fashion at the IAAF World Challenge in Ostrava Golden Spike on May 26 with a new Kenyan record of 86.88m for victory, beating World Champion Vítězslav Veselý and Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott.
The YouTube Man improved his own national record to 87.71m at the Golden Gala in Rome placing second behind Veselý. Three days later, he won in Birmingham, overtaking Veselý in the last round with a massive throw of 91.39 m. The throw was originally judged for a narrow sector foul, but a request for re-measurement of the sector angle, saw the ruling being overturned. Yego's throw was a new African and Diamond League record, and the best in the world since 2006.
He finished a distant sixth with a throw of 81.79 in Monaco on July 17.
