New Delhi: After his silver-winning show at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra is set to participate in the Lausanne Diamond League, also known as Athletissima, on August 21.
Neeraj will be competing in a stacked field similar to the Commonwealth Games 2026 along with European stars. The five javelin superstars who have claimed the last four Olympic and World Championship titles will all be at Athletissima on August 21 for a competition of exceptional quality.
The exceptional field highlights how the centre of gravity in world javelin has shifted towards the Indian subcontinent, with reigning Olympic champion Pakistan’s ArshadNadeem, India’s Chopra and Sri Lanka’s Pathirage, and towards the Caribbean, represented by Trinidad and Tobago’s Walcott and Grenada’s Peters.
The Lausanne crowd will have the opportunity to witness different schools of throwing and contrasting styles. Peters’ meeting record of 90.61m will be under serious threat.
Switzerland’s Simon Wieland, who continues to make impressive progress, has also been confirmed, along with the last two European champions, Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Czechia’s Jakub Vadlejch and Germany’s Julian Weber. World number two American Curtis Thompson will also be in contention for victory.
Five of these throwers, Neeraj, Arshad, Pathirage, Peters, and Walcott, competed in the CWG 2026 javelin final, with Pathirage winning the title with a massive throw of 89.75m in tough windy conditions.
Neeraj produced a season-best throw of 85.83m to finish at the second spot. Arshad, who was also the defending champion from Birmingham, failed to make a mark and finished ninth with a below-par performance of 77.41. Peters finished fourth with 83.88m.
In the Diamond League standings, the 2022 champion Neeraj currently sits seventh with fove points while Pathirage and Peters have already qualified for the finals with 23 points each.
(IANS)
