'YouTube man' Julius Yego fails to make javelin final in Budapest

Kenya’s Julius Yego is out of contention for this year’s world javelin title.

Yego, the 2015 world javelin champion managed to throw 78.42metres to finish eighth in Group “A” and failed to qualify for the final on Friday at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Reigning Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra from India claimed victory in the group with a season’s best 88.77m to position himself for better tidings after he claimed silver last year in Oregon, United States.

European Games champion Julian Weber from Germany was second with a throw of 82.39m.

The group produced a shock when two-time defending champion Anderson Peters from Grenada failed to reach the final after finishing seventh with a throw of 78.49m.

The 34-year-old Yego had hoped to reach the final on his sixth appearance at the world championships, having reached the final in Oregon where his first three throws went off the course to exit.

Yego, the 2016 Rio Olympic Games silver medallist, made his debut at the world championships in 2013 Moscow where he settled fourth in 85.40m.

Yego would then make history as the first Kenyan and the second African to win a world javelin title at 2015 Beijing World Championships in an African Record throw of 92.72m.  Marius Corbett from South Africa handed Africa its maiden crown at 1997 Athens.

A groin injury sustained during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games marked the start of Yego’s battle with the form that saw him finish 13th at the World Athletics Championships in London in 2017 and in 2019 Doha where his first three throws went off the course.

In Budapest, Chopra, who had the best throw in the qualifying round, will be joined by Commonwealth Games champion Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan, who won Group “B” in season’s best 86.79.

Nadeem edged out world bronze medallist Jakub Vadlejch from Czech Republic to second place in 83.50m as the group proved the most competitive, producing eight finalists.

Chopra, Nadeem and Vadlejch, who is also the 2020 Olympic Games silver medallist, are the only three throwers who managed the automatic qualifying mark of 83m.

The final will be staged on Sunday at 9.15pm.

"During the warm-up I felt the power and knew I could make it with only one throw. It felt great releasing the javelin and the result was very satisfying,” Chopra told World Athletics.

“I will definitely give everything in the final as I would like to have a world gold as well as one from the Olympic Games,“ added Chopra.