Athletics-Yego battles to keep javelin's future alive in Kenya
(Reuters) -Julius Yego, the former world champion famously known as "Mr. YouTube", faces a lonely battle to preserve javelin's future in Kenya as he prepares for Saturday's Neeraj Chopra Classic with the weight of an entire sport on his shoulders.
The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist stands as Kenya's sole representative in javelin at World Athletics Championships, a contrast to his country's dominance in distance running that has produced athletes like Eliud Kipchoge and Faith Kipyegon.
"India, of course, being a very big economy, has really been able to help Chopra. I would say maybe the Kenyan story is a little bit different because there isn't much support in the sport as such," Yego told Reuters.
"You can see it's only me who is still there. I'm in the last stages of my career and then we haven't got big support as I would want it to happen, but hopefully it will continue.
"I can't even push when I'm not there (retired). So I can't even be part of the people who really want to make the change when I'm not active," added 36-year-old Yego, who won the world title in 2015.
Coming from countries with less exposure in athletics, Yego finds kinship with Chopra in their shared mission to expand javelin globally.
"We want to make the sport grow even bigger because it is a footprint that matters a lot. What we have done so far and what will happen after us, we want the sport to continue even when we are no longer there," the 36-year-old said.
With the worlds looming in Tokyo in September, Yego said he was operating at "90% fitness" due to injury concerns and with a couple of months to go before the competition starts, he does not want to rush into anything.
The Kenyan also reflected on his country's depth of talent in athletics, praising triple world and Olympic 1,500 metres champion Kipyegon's recent achievements.
Kipyegon last month fell short in her attempt to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes when she clocked 4:06.42 in a Nike "Breaking4" project that, though faster than her own world record, will not be ratified.
"Kenya has big talent, especially in track. Faith's done so well. She's done great in her push to break the four-minute barrier," he said.
However, he expressed a particular interest in nurturing "the next generation of javelin throwers."
Apart from Yego, Irene Jepkemboi can be his country's next hope in the sport after she became the first Kenyan female athlete to surpass the 60-metre mark in the javelin last month.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Kipyegon, Duplantis, Thompson highlight Eugene Diamond League
EUGENE, United States: Faith Kipyegon's return to the 1,500m, Armand Duplantis's bid for a 13th pole vault world record and 100m fields featuring Kishane Thompson, Julien Alfred and Sha'Carri Richardson promise fireworks at the Eugene Diamond League meeting on the Fourth of July weekend. Kipyegon will be back on track in the 1,500m in the wake of her unsuccessful bid to become the first woman to break the four-minute barrier in the Mile in Paris last week. The 31-year-old Kenyan is slated to compete for the first time this season over 1,500m – the event in which she is a three-time Olympic gold medallist and triple world champion. She's undefeated in finals at the distance for 20 races – a streak stretching back to June 2021 in Rome. In Oregon, she'll take on a loaded field that includes the top-four finishers from the 2024 Paris Olympics – Kipyegon herself, Jessica Hull, Georgia Bell and Diribe Welteji. Sweden's Duplantis, meanwhile, will target another world record three weeks after lowering the pole vault world mark for the 12th time with a clearance of 6.28m in Stockholm. Duplantis has set two world records at Eugene's Hayward Field, claiming his first outdoor world title there in 2022 (6.21m) and again at the 2023 Diamond League Finals (6.23m) "It would mean a lot, for sure," he said. "It's going to be pretty stacked, like it usually is, super historic meet, super historic track, special meet for me and my family – my father won the Prefontaine Classic back in 1992." The women's 100m will see the first reunion of the Paris Olympic podium featuring gold medallist Alfred of Saint Lucia, silver medallist Richardson and bronze medallist Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. The showdown will help gauge the progress of Jefferson-Wooden, who clocked a world-leading 10.73sec at a Grand Slam Track meeting in New York in June. Alfred was a convincing winner in Stockholm in 10.75 while Richardson has raced just once this season, posting an 11.47 in Tokyo in May, and will be aiming to sharpen up before the US trials for the World Championships – which will be held in Tokyo on September 13-21. In the men's 100m, all eyes will be on Jamaica's Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson, who clocked a blistering 9.75sec at the Jamaican trials to become the sixth-fastest man in history and the quickest in the last decade. — AFP
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-Late own goal sends Chelsea past Palmeiras into semi-finals
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) -An 83rd-minute Weverton own goal from a deflected Malo Gusto cross gave Chelsea a nervy 2-1 win over a spirited Palmeiras side in the Club World Cup quarter-finals on Friday. Chelsea made most of the running and dominated early on but were reckless with their finishing and went into the break with a one-goal advantage thanks to Cole Palmer's 16th-minute strike. Palmeiras roared back after halftime with teenage winger Estevao, who is soon to join Chelsea, equalising in the 53rd minute with a stunning strike from a tight angle. Seven minutes from time, Gusto's attempted cross deflected off defender Bruno Fuchs and wrongfooted Weverton, the ball bouncing off his back and into the back of the net. Chelsea will now face another Brazilian side in Fluminense in the semi-finals in New York on Tuesday. (Reporting by Fernando Kallas, editing by Nick Mulvenney)
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Swimming-Canada's Oleksiak withdraws from worlds over whereabouts issue
FILE PHOTO: Swimming - FINA World Championships - Budapest, Hungary - June 20, 2022 Canada's Penny Oleksiak reacts after qualifying during the women's 200m freestyle, heat 3 REUTERS/Antonio Bronic/File Photo TORONTO (Reuters) -Penny Oleksiak, Canada's most decorated female Olympian, has pulled out of the upcoming swimming World Championships because of a probe into an alleged breach of the anti-doping code under the whereabouts rule. Elite athletes are obliged to keep doping authorities informed of their whereabouts at all times so random testing can take place. Former Olympic 100 metres freestyle champion Oleksiak announced her withdrawal from the world championships on social media on Friday, stressing that the issue did not involve any banned substances. "I wanted to confirm I am involved in a whereabouts case with World Aquatics that's still in the preliminary stages," she wrote in a statement. "I want to emphasise that this whereabouts case does not involve any banned substance; it's about whether I updated my information correctly. "Out of respect for Swimming Canada, my fellow racers and clean sport, I have decided not to compete at the world championships. "I am and always have been a clean athlete and will be making no further comment at this time." There was no immediate response to a request for comment from World Aquatics. Swimming Canada also released a statement supporting Oleksiak's move, saying they believed she was a clean athlete who had made an "administrative mistake". "We understand that Penny has been notified that she did not keep her whereabouts information fully up-to-date," said Swimming Canada Chief Executive Suzanne Paulins. "She has explained to us that it was inadvertent and that in no way is she involved in the use of banned substances. "This is a team-first decision, as while she has not been sanctioned at this time, participating at world championships could potentially affect team results if an anti-doping rule violation is determined." As well as taking the blue riband sprint gold at Rio as a 16-year-old in 2016, Oleksiak has won six other Olympic medals and nine at three World Championships. The 2025 championships take place in Singapore from July 27 to August 3. (Reporting by Frank Pingue, writing by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by William Mallard)
