Simply no contest!
Olympic and European champion Andreas Thorkildsen emphasised if any emphasis was longer necessary – it isn’t by the way – that he is currently by far the best javelin thrower in the world.
13 competitions this season (including qualification rounds) and the Norwegian has won all but three. Three times he has produced 90m plus competitions in 2006 with a national record of 91.59m on the runway of Oslo’s Bislett stadium back on the 2 June.
After opening with an ultimately winning 87.17m throw, and then following with 83.70m and 83.29m distances, it was understandable after an exhausting season that he took the option to pass his last release.
Today the 24-year-old’s nearest opponent was Africa’s Gerhardus Pienaar, the 2000 World Junior champion, who speared 83.62m with his third attempt, while Russia’s Aleksandr Ivanov was in third place with a best of 81.87m, a throw which completed a series of four good efforts – 80.40, 78.96, 80.79, 81.87.
Chris Turner
