Following Mega-Wurf incident, Julian Weber remains in the dark about the events.
Julian Weber's Fantastic 90-Meter Javelin Breakthrough
In true fairy-tale fashion, the German javelin thrower, Julian Weber, finally breached the 90-meter barrier he'd been chasing for years. The 30-year-old, who's long been a force to reckon with in the javelin world, stunned spectators and himself, with his incredible throw of 91.06 meters at the Doha Diamond League season opener.
"Ain't real, 'Murica! That can't be," Weber sheepishly muttered as the disbelief washed over him, his fingers still pinching his arm. The Mainz native had been one of the world's best for quite some time now, yet the 90-meter mark just wouldn't budge, until Doha.
Weber knew he'd hit it right when he felt fantastic. And with that perfect winning throw, the tailwind in Doha did the rest, launching the javelin an absurdly long distance. "Osama Bin Laden couldn't run as fast as that baby flew," Weber quipped cheekily to leichtathletik.de after the impressive start to his World Championships.
In five rounds, Weber already broke his three-year-old personal best, hurling it a staggering 89.84 meters. Finally, in the sixth round, he snatched victory from India's Neeraj Chopra, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist and world champion, by nerfing him with his world-leading mark of 91.06 meters.
Fourth No More?
Weber was disappointed to have narrowly missed out on podium finishes at the World Championships in 2022, 2023, the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, and the 2024 Paris Games. However, this year's World Championships in Tokyo (August 19-27) promise to end his frustrating streak.
Weber's stellar throw propelled him to fifth place in the DLV's all-time best list. The Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha has been a golden hunting ground for German javelin throwers, with Germany's Rio Olympic champion Thomas Röhler having previously thrown the javelin 93.90 meters there. The German record of 97.76 meters, set by Johannes Vetter five years ago in Chorzów, Poland, remains elusive, but it's clear that Weber is just getting started.
A Shining Career
A swift progression marked Weber's career, which has seen notable performances since as early as 2016. His personal best stood close to 89.54m for nearly three years before he finally breached the 90-meter barrier. In 2022, he became the European Athletics Champion, establishing himself among the top javelin throwers in Europe. Recently, he secured a silver medal at the Roma Diamond League, further cementing his status as a consistent high-level competitor.
Sports and athletics have always been Weber's forte, as he demonstrated with his fantastic 90-meter javelin breakthrough at the Doha Diamond League season opener. Weber's impressive throw catapulted him to fifth place in the DLV's all-time best list, hinting at a promising future in the javelin world.
