New headache for Neeraj Chopra at the Paris Olympics? 19-year-old Max Dehning astonishes everyone with a throw of 90 meters
Neeraj Chopra will start as one of the favorites at the Paris Olympics as the Indian defends his gold medal in men’s javelin at the Tokyo Games.
New Delhi: Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra has a new rival at the 2024 Paris Olympics after 19-year-old German Max Dehning became the youngest to cross the coveted 90-metre mark in the men’s javelin throw. Dehning threw his javelin to a distance of 90.20 meters at the German Winter Throwing Championships in Halle on Sunday to make headlines. Dehning, a two-time silver medalist at the U-20 World Championships, improved his personal best of 78.07 meters and turned heads in the athletics community.
With this attempt he also earned a direct quota at the Olympic Games in Paris. The qualifying mark for the men’s javelin throw was 83 meters. He surpassed the 90-metre mark on his first attempt, becoming the 22nd men’s javelin thrower to reach the coveted mark. It is striking that Neeraj has not yet reached the 90-meter mark with a record of 89.94 meters that he achieved in 2022 during the Stockholm Diamond League.
🚨19-year-old Max Dehning🇩🇪 throws 90.20m, becoming the youngest 90m thrower in history!
THIS IS BIG🤯
German throwing is SO BACK
📽️max_dehning/ig at the German winter camps pic.twitter.com/eJ0E7J0r4n
— Beau throws (@beau_throws) February 25, 2024
Proving that his beast throw was no fluke, Dehning’s second throw covered a distance of 85.45 meters, alerting everyone around the world that he is here to compete. The silver medal went to Nico Cyclist, whose best performance was 76.56 meters.
Germany has a rich history in javelin throwing as the country produced some of the best athletes including Johannes Weber, including Julian Weber. Interestingly, none of the big players, including Neeraj Chopra, Jakub Vadlejch and Anderson Peters, have started their season in the Olympic year yet.
As for Neeraj, the Indian has decided to change his training base from South Africa’s Potchefstroom to Turkey’s Antalya. The proposal was approved last week by the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The 26-year-old from Haryana will train at the Gloria Sports Arena in Turkey from the first week of March to the end of May. He is accompanied by his coach and biomechanics expert Dr. Klaus Bartonietz and physio Ishaan Marwaha. Neeraj was last seen at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where he defended his crown. His first event of 2024 is expected to take place in the Doha or Rabat leg of the Diamond League season in May.