Keshorn Walcott, gold medalist, Olympic Javelin, photo by PhotoRun.net
All of nineteen, fresh off the World Junior Championships, Keshorn Walcott just shocked the javelin world with his gold medal win in London. Look at Keshorn closely,
as Trinidad celebrates, this young man will become the Bolt of the javelin, mark my word.
Long before Keshorn Walcott was a glimmer in his parent’s eyes, a Hungarian
javelin thrower, Miklos Nemeth, son of 1948 hammer gold winner Imre Nemeth,
surprised the 1976 javelin field with a world record first round throw. In 1976,
Miklos was considered a young man with potential, but someone who had never
just done it. In Montreal, Nemeth set a WR on his first throw, devastating the
field, and taking the gold.
Keshorn Walcott is the World Junior Champion in the javelin. He threw an 83.51m
throw in the first round, and 84.58m in second round. No one really responded until
Oleksandy Pyatnytsya dropped 84.51m in round three. Anti Ruuskanen dropped 84.12m
in round five to take the bronze.
Andreas Thorkildsen, the 2008 Olympic champion, was just not there. His throws
were short and he seemed to have trouble concentrating, hitting 82.63m for his
best.
Tero Pitamaki of Finland threw 82.80m for fifth, and he just was not there either.
Perhaps, Pitamaki and Thorkildsen needed some Iron Maiden or Metallica, but
their throwing was not with them.
Keshorn Walcott probably surprised himself. He also set a National record with his gold
medal. Watch this young man, he will be picking more medals in the future.
11 August 2012 – 19:20
| Position | Bib | Athlete | Country | Mark | . |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3052 | Keshorn Walcott | TRI | 84.58 | (NR) |
| 2 | 3143 | Oleksandr Pyatnytsya | UKR | 84.51 | . |
| 3 | 1727 | Antti Ruuskanen | FIN | 84.12 | . |
| 4 | 1525 | VÃtezslav Veselý | CZE | 83.34 | . |
| 5 | 1726 | Tero Pitkämäki | FIN | 82.80 | . |
| 6 | 2599 | Andreas Thorkildsen | NOR | 82.63 | . |
| 7 | 1982 | SpirÃdon Lebésis | GRE | 81.91 | . |
| 8 | 1901 | Tino Häber | GER | 81.21 | . |
| 9 | 2609 | Stuart Farquhar | NZL | 80.22 | . |
| 10 | 2219 | Roderick Genki Dean | JPN | 79.95 | . |
| 11 | 1725 | Ari Mannio | FIN | 78.60 | . |
| 12 | 2322 | Julius Yego | KEN | 77.15 | . |
| Athlete | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keshorn Walcott | 83.51 | 84.58 | X | 80.64 | X | – |
| Oleksandr Pyatnytsya | 77.47 | 81.61 | 84.51 | 81.53 | 81.01 | 83.53 |
| Antti Ruuskanen | 79.60 | 81.09 | 81.60 | 81.97 | 84.12 | 79.88 |
| VÃtezslav Veselý | X | 81.69 | 81.80 | X | 80.32 | 83.34 |
| Tero Pitkämäki | 77.33 | 82.68 | 80.67 | 80.46 | 82.80 | 82.53 |
| Andreas Thorkildsen | X | 82.63 | X | 81.70 | X | X |
| SpirÃdon Lebésis | 81.21 | 81.91 | 81.27 | 80.36 | X | 79.45 |
| Tino Häber | 76.99 | 74.33 | 81.21 | 79.95 | 76.36 | 75.85 |
| Stuart Farquhar | 76.80 | 76.64 | 80.22 | |||
| Roderick Genki Dean | X | 79.95 | X | |||
| Ari Mannio | 78.60 | 77.71 | X | |||
| Julius Yego | 72.59 | 77.15 | 74.08 |
