Andreas Thorkildsen, 2012 London Olympics, photo by PhotoRun.net
Andreas Thorkildsen is the best javelin thrower in the world. He knows it, and most of Scandinavia knows it. Even Andreas knows it. His sense of perfection is such that, when he throws a plebian throw such as an 81 or 82 low meter throw like he did in London several times, he fouls. As a former coach, I am very unhappy when he does that. Truth is, Andreas Thorkildsen could give a kroner or less what I or anyone else says. His coach, and his soul are all that matter.
Here are the facts. Andreas Thorkildsen is javelin royalty. And in Norway, Finland, Sweden, that is sports royalty.
Andreas is the 2004 Olympic champion and 2008 Olympic champion. He has thrown over 90 meters five out of last six years. He is European champion, World Champion, 14 time national champion.
He listens to his own drummer.
In the recent London Olympics, Andreas took sixth. He had one good throw in the qualifying, but could not put it together in the final. His best throw in Ostrava Golden Spike in late May would have medaled here.
For Andreas, that is just no enough.
” I could be a morning person, if morning started at noon.” That is a note on his Facebook sites, where 34,000 people follow him. Hey, that is just about the size of LoLo Jones’ Facebook followers, before she started talking about virginity. Don’t expect Andreas to say something like that though.
Eminently quotable, with a great sense of humor and an intellect that does not suffer fools, Thorkildsen loves his event and knows he has the perfect throw left.
With such high standards, and from someone who has won two Olympic golds, it must be difficult to deal with the realities of injuries and bad days.
This coming weekend, Andeas will be throwing the javelin at the DN Galan meeting, one of his favorites.
After watching him in London, it became apparent to RBR that Andreas is about a month away from a good throw. His injury just took too long to heal.
Rio De Janeiro? Well, he is only 28, we shall ask him that this weekend.
But, until then, make sure you follow him on Facebook and check out his website. His sense of humor is great, his thoughtfulness will surprise and he learnt english off the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air-how can one not like him?
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