Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra
The winner of the men’s javelin in Bydgoszcz will likely land their country’s first ever gold medal in the event at the IAAF World U20 Championships.
All of the main contenders hail from nations that have never previously succeeded in the men’s javelin at these championships.
India’s Neeraj Chopra tops this year’s world U20 list with the five best throws this season. The 18-year-old set an Asian U20 record of 82.23m earlier this year and has since backed it up with several throws beyond 79 metres.
But in a year of great depth, Chopra isn’t unbeatable. Japan’s Junya Sado inflicted a shock defeat on Chopra at last month’s Asian Junior Championships, throwing a big personal best of 77.97m.
Sado will be a threat in Bydgoszcz, but so too will the four other men ranked above him on this year’s world U20 list.
Turkey’s Emin Oncel recently improved his own national U20 record to 79.42m, while Romania’s Youth Olympic silver medallist Alexandru Novac kicked off his 2016 season with 78.66m back in March.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who threw a national senior record of 78.33m earlier this year, is another medal contender, as is Grenada’s Anderson Peters, who won the Carifta Games title with a national senior record of 78.28m.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
