Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem has ended the country’s 32-year Olympic medal drought by winning gold in the javelin throw at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Nadeem achieved the longest throw of 92.97 meters, setting a new Olympic record.
In his initial attempt, Nadeem did not score, but he made a remarkable comeback with his second throw, surpassing Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen’s previous record of 90.57 meters from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also recorded an 88.72-meter throw in his third attempt.
Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra also struggled initially but recovered with an 89.45-meter throw. His third attempt was unsuccessful.
The final round of the javelin throw saw all 12 competitors make three throws each, with the top eight advancing for three additional throws. Nadeem qualified for the final with an 86.59-meter throw in the qualification round.
Nadeem became Pakistan’s sole hope for a medal after six out of seven athletes from the country were disqualified from their events. Pakistan’s last Olympic medal was a bronze in hockey at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.