The 2016 Olympic silver medallist Julius Yego believes he’s steadily rediscovering his rhythm after delivering a season-best throw of 84.51m at the star-studded Neeraj Chopra Classic on July 5 in Bengaluru, India.
The inaugural meet, named after India’s 2020 Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, attracted a stellar cast of throwers to the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, India, where Chopra delivered a standout performance in front of his home crowd, winning with an 86.18m throw. Yego's throw was enough to earn him a runners-up finish, with Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage completing the podium with an 84.34m throw.
Yego highlighted that he is slowly growing into his groove with the World Championships just around the corner. "I told myself that I have to keep on improving as the year goes by. I was able to improve my season best," Yego said.
Yego launched his 2025 campaign at the Doha Diamond League in May, securing ninth place after a 78.52m throw. The meeting saw Germany’s Julian Weber unleash a world-leading 91.06m to claim victory. Chopra soared into the 90m club with 90.23m, while Olympic bronze medallist Anderson Peters of Grenada threw 85.64m for third. He followed it up with an appearance in front of the home crowd at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on May 31. Yego once again struggled to find his groove, placing ninth with a below-par 74.71m.
Brazil’s Luiz Mauricio da Silva (86.34m) claimed top honours, with Germany’s Thomas Röhler (80.79m) and Portugal’s Leandro Ramos (80.68m) completing the podium. The 2015 World champion, however, turned his season around the following month with two dominant displays in Finland. On June 11 at the Motonet GP meet, he uncorked a season-best 82.95m to take the win, leading 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott (79.98m) and Finland’s Taneli Juutinen (78.24m). Six days later at the Turku continental meet, he improved on his season best with an 83.08m throw to claim victory. His form, however, dipped at the Paris Diamond League on June 26, finishing sixth with an 80.26m throw.
Chopra (88.16m), Julian Weber of Germany (87.88m) and Da Silva (86.62m) claimed the podium. With his recent mark in India, Yego believes he's on the right path toward challenging the world’s elite once again. "My main aim is to aim for even better throws in coming competitions as we head to the World Championships, " he added.
"I want to be in good form for the World Championships to challenge the likes of Chopra and Weber at the World Championships."
He is hoping to refine the finer points of his throw with the upcoming competitions. "I want to make my techniques even better with each competition."
His next competition is on July 22 at the Kenyan World Championship trials at Ulinzi Sports Complex. Yego is part of the elite athletes invited for the national trials, where he will flex muscles with Alexander Kiprotich and Duncan Mong'are in the javelin.
