Julius Yego vowed to fight for a podium at the Tokyo World Championships

The 2015 world javelin throw champion Julius Yego has vowed to fight for a podium at the Tokyo World Championships in September before considering his retirement from the sport.

“I have already qualified for the Tokyo World Championships, so now it’s time for me to train hard and smart. I am old and I have to train really smart”, said the Kenyan athlete in an interview. “I am healthy now. As you know, I have always thought that my lucky number is 5 and it is 2025, so I really do because I don’t have any more years to compete”, added he.

Julius Yego suffered a series of injuries that have stopped him from performing at his best, but this season seems to be starting on a positive note.

He failed to reach the final of the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the 2022 and 2023 World Championships (Eugene and Budapest), due to injuries.

“I also have to be very good at what I do because last year I came back after many years of being injured. I have to do it, I want to win another medal at the World Championships”, added Julius Yego.

Julius Yego holds the African record for the javelin event, boasting a personal best throw of 92.72m. He secured the javelin title at the All-Africa Games in 2011 and triumphed at the African Championships in Athletics in both 2012 and 2014. At the 2013 World Championships, Julius Yego finished in fourth place, narrowly missing out on a medal in the final round. In 2014, he made history as the first Kenyan to earn a gold medal in a field event at the Commonwealth Games. During the 2015 World Championships, he achieved a gold medal with a throw of 92.72 meters, marking him as the first Kenyan to win a World Championships gold in a field event. He also claimed a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro.