A look back at the key moments of 2022 in the throws events

2022 review: throws

<p>Despite already making her mark at senior level, U20 competition remains incredibly important to Adriana Vilagos.</p>
<p>Remarkably, even with two world U20 titles to her name, the Serbian javelin talent remains eligible for the age group in 2023 and could make even more history before she fully switches to the senior ranks.</p>
<p>The 18-year-old learned her craft by watching videos of the sport&rsquo;s greats and 2022 was the year that Vilagos went up against &ndash; and beat &ndash; some of those athletes on the major stage. Her main goal might have been the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22, but she says it was the European Championships that provided the biggest surprise &ndash; and her standout moment &ndash; in a year that has been capped by her receiving the Rising Star honour at the World Athletics Awards 2022.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I am very happy and honoured that they think I deserve this year&rsquo;s award. It&rsquo;s huge recognition,&rdquo; said Vilagos, who travelled to Monaco to receive her award at the Prince&rsquo;s Palace of Monaco on Monday (5). &ldquo;Defending my world U20 title in Colombia was my main goal, but winning a medal at the European Championships was the biggest surprise. It was a good year, and this award crowns it.&rdquo;</p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/63921258eb00283b664b390f.jpg" alt="2022 Rising Star Adriana Vilagos and World Athletics President Sebastian Coe" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">2022 Rising Star Adriana Vilagos and World Athletics President Sebastian Coe</p>
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<p>From March to September, Vilagos lined up in 16 competitions and finished in the top three in 15 of them. She added more than a metre to her PB, breaking the European U20 record with a 63.52m throw, and consistently surpassed 60 metres.</p>
<p>The first half of her season included wins at the Balkan Championships, Serbian Championships and Mediterranean Games, as she worked towards the defence of her world U20 title in Cali. Once there, a year on from her gold medal win as a 17-year-old in Nairobi in 2021, she dominated. Surpassing 60 metres with four of her five valid attempts in the final, she saved her best for last and achieved a championship record of 63.52m &ndash; also a European U20 record that moved her to third on the world U20 all-time list. The performance saw Vilagos become the first woman since former world record-holder Osleidys Menendez to win back-to-back world U20 javelin titles.<br /><br /></p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sp7CghqutG0" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><br />Vilagos returned to competition just two weeks later, this time making her senior major championships debut at the European Championships in Munich. Using what she had learned in competition and from watching videos of stars in the sport, she kept her composure to secure silver behind champion Elina Tzengko, whom Vilagos had beaten to the world U20 title in 2021, and finish one place ahead of world record-holder and multiple global gold medallist Barbora Spotakova.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I was four years old when Spotakova threw the world record and I watched her on television, so it was an honour to compete with her and to beat her was unbelievable,&rdquo; said Vilagos.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was a very hard competition and I started badly,&rdquo; she reflected. &ldquo;In the first round I threw 51 metres, and I hadn&rsquo;t thrown 51 for a while! After I threw 55 metres (in the next round), I thought that I would be out after the third round because I was not mentally there, I was not focused enough, and I was too nervous.&rdquo;</p>
<p>But she achieved a 59.64m throw from her next attempt, allowing her to &ldquo;relax and enjoy the competition&rdquo;. She was in fourth place, but moved into the medals in the fifth round with 60.32m &ndash; a single centimetre farther than Spotakova.</p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/636e40caa86a109218a89109.jpg" alt="Adriana Vilagos at the European Championships" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Adriana Vilagos at the European Championships (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
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<p>&ldquo;I was then in third place for a moment, but I was prepared that in the last round Spotakova was going to throw more. I had watched her competitions before. She is a very good and experienced thrower, so I was prepared that she was going to keep me off the podium.&rdquo;</p>
<p>And while Spotakova did throw further in the last round (60.68m), so did Vilagos, as she launched her spear 62.01m.</p>
<p>&ldquo;In the last round, I gave it everything,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;When I turned and watched on the screen, and I saw that it flew over the silver line and the bronze line, I was extremely happy.</p>
<p>&ldquo;At first, I didn&rsquo;t even believe that it was happening because a year before Tzengko and I were first and second at the European U20 Championships and then we got the same result in the senior European Championships. It was like a dream.&rdquo;</p>
<p>After Munich, Vilagos made her debut in the Wanda Diamond League, finishing third in Brussels thanks to a throw of 63.00m. &ldquo;I met a lot of throwers that before I had only seen on the TV,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Next year maybe, with more experience, it will be easier and I hope to compete with them.&rdquo;<br /><br /></p>
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<p><br />Vilagos grew up in Mali Idos in the north of Serbia, where she played handball. A teacher noticed her talent for throwing and entered her into a vortex competition, where the implement is a small rocket-shaped missile. She won.</p>
<p>Guided by her mother Derdi, a handball coach and former player, Vilagos continued to win.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We started to learn on the internet how real vortex throwers were throwing,&rdquo; explained Derdi, who works as a public prosecutor. &ldquo;She did 79 metres with the vortex but competitions only go up to the age of 13 years. Then we really started to think that she could learn to be a javelin thrower in future.&rdquo;</p>
<p>They returned to YouTube as an education tool.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We would sit in front of a laptop or the TV and watch mostly Jan Zelezny&rsquo;s throws and training videos, to study technique,&rdquo; said Vilagos. &ldquo;We spent hours and hours watching, and then we would go out to the field and would try it. If it was good, we left, and if it wasn&rsquo;t, then we would change something, watch other videos and try another technique.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;It paid off,&rdquo; added Derdi. &ldquo;We learned and learned, and here we are.&rdquo;</p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62fce0e5b95a9d024209ae3e.jpg" alt="Serbia's two-time world U20 javelin champion Adriana Vilagos at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Serbia's two-time world U20 javelin champion Adriana Vilagos at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 (&copy; Marta Gorczynska)</p>
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<p>Still learning, Vilagos feels she has much more to give. &ldquo;I think in every aspect we have a lot of potential for improving in training,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We are doing weight lifting with just the 10kg bar and the technique it is not perfect, so we have room for improvement.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Next year, she will hope to demonstrate that improvement at the European U20 Championships in Jerusalem, and potentially the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.</p>
<p>&ldquo;My main goal will be the European U20 Championships,&rdquo; said Vilagos, who speaks Hungarian and lives close to the border. &ldquo;But I am preparing for Budapest too. It would be my first senior World Championships, so we will see.&rdquo;</p>
<p>One thing is for sure: she won&rsquo;t stop dreaming.</p>
<p>&ldquo;What in the beginning seems impossible, in the end, it&rsquo;s maybe not,&rdquo; she said, offering her advice to the next generation of aspiring athletes. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be afraid to dream big, because if you work hard, it may come true.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Jess Whittington for World Athletics</strong></p>

Despite already making her mark at senior level, U20 competition remains incredibly important to Adriana Vilagos.

On an upward trajectory, Rising Star Vilagos targets more U20 success

<p>When USA&rsquo;s Tom Petranoff set a world javelin record of 99.72m in May 1983, he assured fans that the javelin could still be thrown even farther, that there was more excitement to come.</p>
<p>It didn&rsquo;t take long for Petranoff&rsquo;s prediction to come to fruition.</p>
<p>A little over a year later, in June 1984, Germany&rsquo;s Uwe Hohn threw 104.80m to surpass Petranoff&rsquo;s mark, also becoming the first man to throw the javelin beyond 100 metres.</p>
<p>But contrary to popular belief, those record-breaking distances were not the reason for World Athletics (then known as the IAAF) changing the specification of the javelin. The main reason the Technical Committee decided to change the rules for javelin construction was because of the increasingly frequent flat landings and the resulting discussions and protests because of attempts declared valid or invalid by competition judges.</p>
<p>The implementation of those changes in 1986 required not only a new set of javelins, but also a new set of records. The world record with the &lsquo;new&rsquo; specification javelin of 98.48m has stood to Jan Zelezny since 1996.</p>
<p>Petroff&rsquo;s prognosis for his sport was true until it wasn&rsquo;t.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/63414dc9035ac882f67a6645.jpg" alt="US javelin thrower Tom Petranoff" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">US javelin thrower Tom Petranoff (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Constant change</h2>
<p>It wasn&rsquo;t the first time the javelin had been changed, but it was one of the most deliberate and controversial moves.</p>
<p>The implement had been quietly developing since the inception of the event, when the javelin was primarily a weapon. In the 1950s post-war period, Bud Held improved the world record that had stood for 15 years, thanks to a new implement that had been developed by his brother, Dick. Like previous javelins, this newer one was made of wood but was hollow and had 27% more surface area, making them more aerodynamic.</p>
<p>Held&rsquo;s design continued to evolve through the 1970s and metal implements soon become commonplace. Javelins of this modern construction had longer flight times and flatter landings, meaning they did not land with the tip in the ground, but instead continued to slide across the field after landing. Additionally, these javelins reached a pitching point (where the javelin begins to nose down) later in their flight than today&rsquo;s javelins. This later pitching point gave those javelins a &lsquo;float&rsquo; period when gusts of wind could more easily push the javelin off course, leaving judges and onlookers guessing as to where it might land, and whether they might be in its way. If the wind were working in the athlete&rsquo;s favour, the float period may also gift the throw with several extra metres without any additional effort.</p>
<p>While some believed those aerodynamic attributes were features rather than bugs, discussions began in the late 1970s about what could be done to remedy the shortcomings of these javelins. Another revolution in javelin construction had emerged to optimise the principles introduced by Held. This time, however, optimisation did not necessarily mean flying farther.</p>
<p>The changes that were introduced in the mid-1980s included moving the centre of gravity three centimetres forward, limiting the minimum allowable thickness of the tail, and resetting the record books. Moving the centre of gravity ensured an earlier pitching point and more tip-first landings, also reducing the flight range and unpredictability. The regulations on the thickness of the tail, meanwhile, ensured that other adjustments could not be made that would render the shift in the centre of gravity useless.</p>
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<h2>History on display</h2>
<p>The World Athletics Heritage collection in the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/mowa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Museum of World Athletics</a></strong></span> contains the 1912 Olympic winning javelin of the first men's official world record-holder, Eric Lemming, and the javelin with which Jan Zelezny set the current men's world record in 1996.</p>
<p>Among many more javelin artefacts, the collection also includes the throwing boots of the first world champion with the modern spear, Finland's Seppo Raty.</p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/63414c3af740291a81a235e5.jpg" alt="Javelin legend Eric Lemming" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Javelin legend Eric Lemming (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Changes to women&rsquo;s javelin</h2>
<p>The 1984 rule change affected only the men&rsquo;s javelin, not because the same issues with flat landings did not exist in the women&rsquo;s event, but because no one had thought to test variations of the women&rsquo;s implement.</p>
<p>A proposal to alter the women&rsquo;s 600g javelin was also submitted in 1984, but the lack of testing data made decision-making irresponsible. It took until 1996 for sufficient tests to be done on those variations, which found that the optimal changes were proportional to those made in the men&rsquo;s implement. A proposal for rule changes was submitted to the Technical Commission and accepted in 1997. In 1999, the records were reset, and the new specifications finally went into effect for the women.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/63414d0b035ac882f67a663f.jpg" alt="Norwegian javelin thrower Trine Hattestad at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Norwegian javelin thrower Trine Hattestad at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
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<p><br />By regulating the javelin into unambiguous landings, for both the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s implement, integrity was restored to the event.</p>
<p>But as with any changes, there were critics of the new rules.</p>
<p>One widely held belief was that these rules would introduce an era of javelin throwers who were disinterested in technique, instead primarily relying on strength. As statistician A Lennart Julin observed: &ldquo;They [fans, athletes, coaches] viewed it as a &lsquo;castration&rsquo; which diminished not only the performances but also the aesthetic values traditionally associated with the javelin throw.&rdquo; Others believed that the new javelin&rsquo;s flight pattern would be less beautiful without the float period.</p>
<h2>Critics won over</h2>
<p>Fortunately, fears over loss of technique in the event turned out to be entirely false.</p>
<p>In fact, by some accounts, the new javelin was more sensitive to technical errors than the old models. Because of its earlier pitch point, it is less likely to be carried by the wind a few extra metres, which could conceal a less-than-satisfactory release.</p>
<p>Additionally, tests done by Nordic Sport in 1986 revealed smaller differences in distances reached when the old and new javelins were launched from a javelin gun rather than thrown by athletes. The old javelin flew 5.9% further than the new javelin out of the javelin gun compared to 8.1% further from the athletes.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/63414cdc035ac882f67a663c.jpg" alt="Cezch javelin thrower Jan Zelezny in 1996" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Cezch javelin thrower Jan Zelezny in 1996 (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
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<p><br />Eventually, most critics had to admit that the goals of the rule changes had been met. In one 1986 opinion piece published for World Athletics, coach Wilf Paish conceded that ultimately, the changes were worth everyone&rsquo;s time. Paish was initially opposed to the changes, but reasoned: &ldquo;when you have finally come to terms with the fact that the flight range is going to be less, and the flight curve less aesthetic to the eye, all other things are a PLUS and will favour the good, consistent thrower. Less is left to the change of a lifting air current or the whim of a landing judge.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The beauty of this event is both in the skill of the athlete and the flight of the javelin. The objective is simple: throw the javelin as far as possible. The execution is extraordinarily complex, especially when you consider that the javelins are light, comparable to broomsticks, and that the athletes need a rare balance of flexibility, speed, agility, and power.</p>
<p>When thrown well, the javelin&rsquo;s flight is graceful; it sails across the field and commands your attention when it lands &ndash; regardless of the distance it covers.</p>
<p><strong>Hannah Martin for World Athletics</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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<h4><strong>References</strong></h4>
<h4><a href="https://worldathletics.org/download/downloadnsa?filename=f1dd5b0a-865f-47ed-adf5-3237595eb991.pdf&amp;urlslug=round-table-37-new-javelin-for-women" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Backley, S., A. B&ouml;rgstrom, and P. Lawler. &ldquo;Roundtable Questions: New Javelin for Women.&rdquo; New Studies in Athletics, IAAF 2000.</a></h4>
<h4><a href="https://worldathletics.org/download/downloadnsa?filename=7c10d79b-7f8f-498f-91b1-306dd3d5d58e.pdf&amp;urlslug=two-years-with-the-new-javelin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">B&ouml;rgstrom, Anders. &ldquo;Two Years with the New Javelin.&rdquo; New Studies in Athletics, IAAF 1988.</a></h4>
<h4><a href="https://worldathletics.org/download/downloadnsa?filename=610e026d-4432-444c-831a-37ba07848828.pdf&amp;urlslug=the-development-of-the-javelin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">B&ouml;rgstrom, Anders. &ldquo;The development of the javelin.&rdquo; New Studies in Athletics, IAAF 2000.</a></h4>
<h4><a href="https://worldathletics.org/download/downloadnsa?filename=ae0a179d-5267-42bf-a478-5d22c567e7d2.pdf&amp;urlslug=why-did-the-senior-javelin-specification-have" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bremicker, Erich. Translated by J&uuml;rgen Schiffer. &ldquo;Why did the senior javelin specification have to be changed?&rdquo; New Studies in Athletics, IAAF 2000.</a></h4>
<h4>Dave Astrauskas, email message to the author, 2 Jan 2022.</h4>
<h4><a href="http://libproxy.vassar.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/world-record-javelin-thrower-says-he-expects-even/docview/1037935920/se-2?accountid=14824" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elderkin, Phil. &ldquo;World record javelin thrower says he expects even longer tosses in future.&rdquo; The Christian Science Monitor, 10 June 1983.</a></h4>
<h4><a href="https://worldathletics.org/download/downloadnsa?filename=a0dce95a-81a9-4b09-8c90-aec80c6413f4.pdf&amp;urlslug=the-technical-scene-and-the-new-javelin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Glad, Bill. &ldquo;The technical scene and the new javelin.&rdquo; New Studies in Athletics, IAAF 1986.</a></h4>
<h4><a href="https://worldathletics.org/download/downloadnsa?filename=6eda65a4-a872-47b2-bc03-f8d486d97e5f.pdf&amp;urlslug=the-new-javelin-effects-on-level-of-performan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Julin, A. Lennart. &ldquo;The new Javelin: effects on level of performance.&rdquo; New Studies in Athletics, IAAF 1988.</a></h4>
<h4><a href="https://worldathletics.org/download/downloadnsa?filename=acf7083a-2225-4ae1-a11a-d34427518003.pdf&amp;urlslug=the-past-present-and-future-of-the-javelin-th" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lawler, Peter. &ldquo;The Javelin Throw- the past, present and future.&rdquo; New Studies in Athletics, IAAF 1993.</a></h4>
<h4><a href="https://worldathletics.org/download/downloadnsa?filename=a9249269-5fe8-4ea1-b10b-d58a4d623265.pdf&amp;urlslug=some-initial-observations-on-the-new-mens-jav" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paish, Wilf. &ldquo;Some initial observations on the new men&rsquo;s javelin.&rdquo; New Studies in Athletics, IAAF 1986.</a></h4>

An in-depth look at how and why the specifications of the javelin have changed over the years

From Held to Hohn and beyond – the evolution of the javelin

<p>With each landmark achievement this season &ndash; and there have been many &ndash; Kara Winger was met with the same question from journalists and fans.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Are you <em>sure</em> you want to retire?&rdquo;</p>
<p>The US javelin thrower decided some time ago that 2022 would be her final year in the sport. It also ended up being her best season by quite some margin.</p>
<p>She won her first global medal, taking silver at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, then won NACAC gold and followed that with a US record of 68.11m in Brussels before capping her season by taking victory at the Wanda Diamond League Final.</p>
<p>But after all of that, the 36-year-old has stood by her decision to hang up her throwing shoes. Doing it on her own terms, off the back of such a successful season with no regrets, has been a dream finish, she says.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I can retire happy,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It took me 12 years to break my PR and I&rsquo;m not going to wait another 12. Breaking my PR was my last box to check. With all of the difficulty that I&rsquo;ve had in my career, a part of me believed that it would never happen again.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been so grateful to know that this is my last go all season,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;Being aware of the end for years &ndash; even through my most recent injury recovery &ndash; means I&rsquo;ve soaked up each experience and treasured memory all the more (and I was already pretty good at that). I don&rsquo;t think you get to repeat last season magic. And I wouldn&rsquo;t want to try. I have other plans.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Throughout her 18-year international career, Winger had dreamt of a season like this. Numerous injuries and setbacks over the years threatened to derail those ambitions, and as the years went by she knew that time wasn&rsquo;t on her side.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6321e9b8e343806cab883143.jpg" alt="Kara Winger at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Kara Winger at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
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<p><br />Her career began with much promise, taking silver at the 2005 Pan-American Junior Championships in Windsor, Canada. 2008 became a breakthrough year on several fronts, as she threw beyond 60 metres for the first time, won her first national title and competed at her first Olympic Games.</p>
<p>She went on to compete at three more Olympics, as well as six World Championships, making the finals in 2015, 2019 and 2022. She also took silver at the 2015 Pan-American Games and gold at the 2019 edition, as well as NACAC gold in 2015 before regaining the title in 2022.</p>
<p>But in among those successes, there were also missed opportunities brought on by injury. And most of those injury-induced dips in form just so happened to coincide with Olympic years.</p>
<p>After tearing her ACL at the 2012 Olympic Trials, Winger wasn&rsquo;t at her best at the London Games one month later. That she managed to throw 56 metres in qualifying was a miracle in itself. Her preparation for the next Olympic season was less than ideal too, as she suffered a torn left labrum and rotator cuff in 2015 and underwent shoulder surgery later that year. Her shoulder wasn&rsquo;t fully up to speed in 2016 and she was also dealing with a niggling knee problem throughout the season, ultimately missing the Olympic final by one place.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6321e9a2e343806cab883140.jpg" alt="Kara Winger at the 2015 World Championships" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Kara Winger at the 2015 World Championships (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
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<p><br />Winger was in great form in the pandemic-hit 2020 season, throwing 64.44m in her one and only competition that year. Had the Olympic Games gone ahead as originally planned that season, perhaps that would have marked a breakthrough moment in Winger&rsquo;s career. As it was, though, she suffered a second ACL tear later that year, compromising her form for the 2021 season. She qualified for her fourth Games, but once more missed out on the final.</p>
<p>It was far from an unfulfilling experience, though. Winger was named captain of the US athletics team for the Games, and she went on to carry the US flag at the closing ceremony &ndash; fitting recognition for her persistence over the years, and a reminder that competing at an Olympics is about more than just winning medals.</p>
<p>Winger, however, was still desperately keen to win a global medal.</p>
<p>It became one of her biggest goals as she embarked on her 2022 farewell season. And, having announced ahead of time that it would be her final year, she found that she could finally compete without the burden of pressure of expectation. She was throwing for the love of throwing.</p>
<p>&ldquo;When you&rsquo;ve had two surgeries on your block leg, each throw is a little bit scary because you don&rsquo;t know how many are left, so you don&rsquo;t know how hard to try in each throw,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;But when you know exactly how many throws you have left (in your career), you know that each one can be quality. I knew I could really attack every single one.</p>
<p>&ldquo;And to have my husband (Russ, former international shot putter and discus thrower) as my coach for my final year just makes the whole thing so much more special,&rdquo; added Winger, who was previously coached by Dana Lyon. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been able to fully relax and have a great time.&rdquo;<br /><br /></p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dLBYUGru-Uo" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Turning point</h2>
<p>Despite a strong start to her final year, throwing beyond 63 metres in her first four competitions, Winger was still lacking the 64.00m qualifying standard for the World Championships on home soil.</p>
<p>Going into the US Championships, she knew that she not only needed a top-three finish to secure her place on the team, she also had to produce her best throw of the year.</p>
<p>She had a couple of 58-metre throws in the first three rounds and was sitting in third place with two rounds to go. A 60.46m effort in round five gave her the lead, but she needed more than that.</p>
<p>She took to the runway one final time and unleashed a 64.26m throw, securing victory and her place at the World Championships.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I battled through a lot of stuff in that competition,&rdquo; she recalled. &ldquo;So that became my most recent memory of Hayward Field going into the World Championships.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Less than a month later, Winger found herself on the same runway. In a highly competitive and memorable final, she was in fifth place with two rounds to go. A 62.17m effort in round five moved her up to fourth, but she still wasn&rsquo;t done. With her final throw of the competition, Winger launched her spear out to 64.05m to move into second place.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6321e92ee343806cab883134.jpg" alt="Kara Winger at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Kara Winger at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
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<p><br />Japan&rsquo;s Haruka Kitaguchi responded with her best throw of the competition, also making it on to the podium, but her 63.27m throw wasn&rsquo;t enough to overtake Winger, who held on to the silver medal position.</p>
<p>It wasn&rsquo;t just Winger&rsquo;s first global medal, it was also USA&rsquo;s first women&rsquo;s javelin medal at the World Championships.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I have dreamed about these championships for a long time,&rdquo; Winger said at the time. &ldquo;My inspiration for retirement at Hayward Field was Steffi Nerius of Germany winning the 2009 World Championships in front of a home crowd in Berlin the year she announced her retirement, so knowing I was going to have a home crowd, I thought, &lsquo;What better way to go out than maybe grabbing a medal at my home field?&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
<p>Winger competed alongside Nerius at those World Championships back in 2009. Czech legend Barbora Spotakova was also in that competition, taking a silver medal on that occasion. Over the years, Spotakova and Winger built up a good friendship and it was strengthened in 2022 in what became the final competitive season for both women.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe I&rsquo;ve got to compete with Barbora Spotakova for my entire professional career,&rdquo; said Winger. &ldquo;She is so wonderful, she is incredibly consistent. I&rsquo;m just such a huge fan. To be sharing these moments with her this season is really, really special.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Leaving a legacy</h2>
<p>In much the same way that Winger looked up to Spotakova, many young throwers in the US would have no doubt been inspired by Winger&rsquo;s time in the sport.</p>
<p>In fact, throwing events as a whole have been a revelation for US women in recent years. For the first time ever at a World Championships, US women earned medals in all four throwing disciplines, including two gold medals.</p>
<p>In terms of depth on the international scene, the javelin remains the weakest of the throwing disciplines for US women, but Winger aims to do all she can to help change that.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6321e96ae343806cab88313a.jpg" alt="Kara Winger at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Kara Winger at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
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<p><br />&ldquo;It was so special to have medals in all four throws at the World Championships, five medals in total,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I was rounding out the group so there was a bit of pressure there. I realised this season that American women&rsquo;s javelin have all of a sudden got older. I&rsquo;ve been the oldest since I was 24 and that&rsquo;s 12 years ago. To have people now who are 33, 30 years old filling in the gaps, that&rsquo;s only going to get better.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Earlier this year I was in a competition where two women from the US threw over 200 feet (60.96m) &ndash; and I wasn&rsquo;t one of them. I love that.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m still going to be involved as a coach, giving advice to help other US throwers succeed on the world stage. I also want to direct funds to them by creating a javelin grant system.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Indeed, her work in that area has already started. Winger is senior director for Parity, an organisation dedicated to closing the gender pay gap in sports.</p>
<p>There will also be an easy segue into coaching as Winger has already made plans to take a more active role in the training of Ariana Ince, her US teammate, who is currently coached by John Dagata.</p>
<p>&ldquo;She actually lived with us in Colorado during lockdown in 2020,&rdquo; said Winger. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s just awesome, for five years now we&rsquo;ve been almost inseparable, rooting for each other at major championships. My husband has such a good eye. They&rsquo;re far more similar in terms of athleticism, so I&rsquo;m really excited to see what they can do together. I&rsquo;ll be on hand to help translate things into competition terms, helping her to dominate like I know she can.&rdquo;</p>
<p>In fact, Ince is wasting no time in taking up the baton from Winger. At the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Zagreb last weekend, just three days after Winger&rsquo;s last ever competition, Ince threw a lifetime best of 64.38m to win the competition.</p>
<p>Just a couple of weeks prior, Winger and Ince had taken gold and silver at the NACAC Championships in The Bahamas, where they spent as much time as they could together, knowing it would be their final opportunity to do so at an international event.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6321e986e343806cab88313d.jpg" alt="Kara Winger at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Kara Winger at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)</p>
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<p><br />After wrapping up her championship career in The Bahamas, Winger went on to enjoy the dream finish to her season with victories in Brussels and Zurich. She broke the US record in Brussels with 68.11m, while she won in Zurich with 64.98m and all six of her throws were beyond 61 metres &ndash; the best series of her career.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I had been knocked down a lot of times and I didn&rsquo;t know if it was ever going to happen,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I overcame so much and I&rsquo;m just incredibly grateful that I got to become that first person to win a medal in the women&rsquo;s javelin.</p>
<p>&ldquo;To be part of the history that I always wanted to be part of is what makes the ending to this whole journey so unbelievable and fitting.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics</strong></p>

A world medal, American record and Diamond League title - the perfect end to a long career

Retiring on a high, Winger has no regrets

<p>A few hours after taking her last throw at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich on Thursday (8), javelin thrower Barbora Spotakova announced her retirement from the sport.</p>
<p>During an international career that spanned 23 years, the Czech legend earned two Olympic gold medals, three world titles and a full set of European medals. She also set the existing world record of 72.28m back in 2008, making it the longest-standing world record in the women&rsquo;s javelin.</p>
<p>Having started out as a heptathlete, finishing fourth at the 2000 World U20 Championhips, Spotakova&rsquo;s first international accolade was the 2005 World University Games title. The final addition to her medal cabinet, meanwhile, was European bronze, which she earned in Munich last month at the age of 41.</p>
<p>The peak of her career, though, started when she won the world title in 2007 with a national record of 67.07m, a mark she extended to 67.12m in Stuttgart at the end of the year.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/631bd807e13479f084252a9f.jpg" alt="Barbora Spotakova at the 2008 World Athletics Final in Stuttgart" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Barbora Spotakova at the 2008 World Athletics Final in Stuttgart (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)</p>
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<p><br />Her 2008 season followed a similar pattern as she set a European record of 71.42m to win the Olympic title in Beijing, and then returned to Stuttgart for her final competition of the year, where she broke the world record with 72.28m.</p>
<p>She took silver at the 2009 World Championships but returned to the top of the podium at the 2011 World Championships, throwing 71.58m &ndash; the second-best mark of her career. She successfully defended her Olympic title in 2012, then missed most of the 2013 as she gave birth to her son, Janek, in May that year. She returned to competition just four months later, throwing 62.33m at a low-key late-season meeting.</p>
<p>She returned to the No.1 spot in 2014, winning nine of her 10 competitions and throwing a world-leading 67.99m. Having earned silver in 2006 and bronze in 2010, Spotakova won her first European title in 2014.</p>
<p>Spotakova had a rare off-day at the 2015 World Championships, placing ninth in the final, but she rebounded in 2016 to earn Olympic bronze, becoming the first woman in history to win three Olympic medals in the javelin.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/631bd888e13479f084252aa5.jpg" alt="Barbora Spotakova at the London 2012 Olympic Games" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Barbora Spotakova at the London 2012 Olympic Games (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)</p>
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<p><br />In 2017, at the age of 36, Spotakova threw a world-leading 68.26m before going on to win her third world title in London. She capped her season with victory at the Diamond League Final, earning her fifth Diamond trophy.</p>
<p>After taking a break in 2018 to give birth to her second son, Darek, Spotakova returned to action in 2019 and reached the World Championships final. In 2021, after winning the Czech title and winning at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco, Spotakova competed at her fifth Olympic Games and only narrowly missed out on making the final.</p>
<p>She won her 15th and final Czech title earlier this year before going on to take bronze at the European Championships, her 11th medal from a global or continental championships.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Every fairy tale comes to an end, and mine had a wonderful happy ending in the form of a bronze medal at the European Championships in Munich, symbolically closing the circle,&rdquo; Spotakova said at a press conference in Prague on Friday (9). &ldquo;My body was clearly telling me that it was time to quit.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/631bd868e13479f084252aa2.jpg" alt="Barbora Spotakova at the 2022 European Championships" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Barbora Spotakova at the 2022 European Championships (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)</p>
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<p><br />&ldquo;I would like to thank everyone who stood by me the whole time. First, of course, are my parents and my partner Luk&aacute;&scaron;. Many thanks also go to coaches Rudo Čern&yacute;, Jan Železn&yacute; and Jan Tylče. Next important person is Libor Varhan&iacute;k, who took excellent care of me the whole time, and Jaroslav Pri&scaron;č&aacute;k, who brought me to Dukla Prague. Then there are a number of doctors and physiotherapists who have performed miracles many times. There are countless people to whom I owe such a long career.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Spotakova says she has no real immediate plans other than to focus on being a mother to her two boys.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I want to be a mom now,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;The boys are nine and four, and I feel they need me more than ever before. I found that it makes me happier when they play sports than when I do. In the past year, I had to watch myself a lot to stay as healthy as possible, and I missed the joy of athletics. I enjoy my boys sports all the more.&rdquo;</p>
<p>In future, though, Spotakova would like to stay involved in athletics in some capacity.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I would like to be involved in Dukla Prague (the athletics club to which she belongs) and pass on my experience to young athletes,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I believe I have enough of them and I have something to pass on to them. But now I need to rest for a while and gain energy.&rdquo;</p>

Five-time global champion and world record-holder hangs up her throwing shoes

Javelin legend Spotakova announces retirement

<p>It all started with the vortex &ndash; a small, American football-shaped foam missile with an aerodynamic tail. Adriana Vilagos was eight years old and, in her home village of Mali Idos in the north of Serbia, she started laying the foundations for an eventual career in the javelin.&nbsp;</p>
<p>She was playing handball at the time, but her gym teacher noticed something: Vilagos had a faster hand, a stronger throw, than other children, and so she sent her to participate in a children&rsquo;s throwing competition.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t even know what this was,&rdquo; she says.</p>
<p>Her mother, Derdi, was a handball coach and former player. She worked as a public prosecutor in the same city that vortex-throwing competition was being held in so she brought Adriana along. Vilagos won, then went back playing handball after, but a year later she entered the same competition again &ndash; and won again.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I really started to like this,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;Vortex was amazing. The results got better and better, and in the end I threw 79 metres.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The only issue? Vortex competitions only went up to the age of 13. After that, Vilagos had to learn the javelin &ndash; a similar but far more complicated technique.</p>
<p>&ldquo;In vortex you can throw and it doesn&rsquo;t matter how, it will fly, but with javelin you can hit yourself in the head, the back,&rdquo; laughs Vilagos. &ldquo;In my village it was not very strong for athletics, we didn&rsquo;t have a club or coach or anything, so my mum helped me in the beginning and we learned a lot. We watched YouTube videos for hours and hours to learn the technique.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Aware that her daughter had a big talent, Derdi signed up for coaching courses and she has guided Adriana to this day, turning her from a standout childhood vortex thrower into an 18-year-old who already has two world U20 javelin titles to her name.&nbsp;<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/611f637a4f2445d6bf59407c.jpg" alt="Adriana Vilagos competes in the javelin final at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Adriana Vilagos competes in the javelin final at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi (&copy; Roger Sedres)</p>
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<p>Growing up, Vilagos &ldquo;never thought&rdquo; she would become a high-level athlete, but in recent years that&rsquo;s exactly what she&rsquo;s become. She finished school earlier this year and is about to start university in a nearby town, studying sport.&nbsp;</p>
<p>She trains once a day, six days a week, her workload relatively light given the distances she&rsquo;s throwing. &ldquo;This year we started to learn how to do weights but we didn&rsquo;t put on weights yet,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just learning that technique and next year can come the results. We are doing gymnastics, we are playing a lot. Handball was very good for that &ndash; it makes my hand faster.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Vilagos stepped away from handball a few years ago to concentrate on athletics and she&rsquo;s been on a steep upward trajectory since. In 2018, at just 14, she threw a Serbian U18 record of 59.69m with the 500g spear, which she improved to 64.73m a year later.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In 2020 she began throwing the senior implement and launched a national U18 record of 57.41m. She threw over 60m for the first time last summer, with 60.94m to win silver at the Balkan Championships, and threw the 500g javelin 70.10m - a world U18 best. Vilagos also won silver at the European U20 Championships behind Greece&rsquo;s Elina Tzengko.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Going to Nairobi for the World Athletics U20 Championships last August, Vilagos didn&rsquo;t think she stood much chance of winning against Tzengko, but that&rsquo;s exactly what she did, upsetting the odds and throwing 61.46m.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That was a real shock for me,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;Elina is amazing &ndash; a very good thrower.&rdquo;</p>
<p>But so, too, is Vilagos, who improved to 62.36m last September at the age of just 17. Through 2022 she was consistent, but for much of the year she didn&rsquo;t live up to her own lofty standards.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t throw that bad, I threw several times over 60m but I didn&rsquo;t get to the big ones,&rdquo; she says.</p>
<p>Heading into the&nbsp;<strong>World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22</strong>, Vilagos felt a big one was coming, and so it proved. She got one hand on the gold medal in the javelin final with her second-round effort of 63.34m, which she later improved to 63.52m, a championship record and Serbian U20 and U23 record.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very happy we are doing good form in the good competitions,&rdquo; she says.&nbsp;<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62fce10eb95a9d024209ae41.jpg" alt="Adriana Vilagos celebrates her javelin championship record at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Adriana Vilagos celebrates her javelin championship record at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 (&copy; Marta Gorczynska)</p>
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<p>She&rsquo;s got another big one right around the corner. On Thursday (18), Vilagos will take to the runway in Munich&rsquo;s Olympic Stadium for javelin qualification at the European Championships, going up against some greats of the event like Olympic champions Barbora Spotakova of Czech Republic and Sara Kolak of Croatia &ndash; along with her old rival Tzengko.&nbsp;</p>
<p>She once met Spotakova, the world record-holder, when they were training at the same time in Split, Croatia, and was starstruck by the experience. Vilagos was the same when she met men&rsquo;s world record-holder Jan Zelezny.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;He is my hero, he is amazing,&rdquo; says Vilagos. &ldquo;We learned watching his throws on YouTube, we spent hours and hours watching how he is throwing.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Her mother was right there with her in Cali, and she&rsquo;ll be there again in Munich. &ldquo;We are really close,&rdquo; says Vilagos. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s learning a lot to be a better and better coach, to be at a higher level, so I have to thank her for everything.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The world U20 record is the 63.86m thrown by Cuba&rsquo;s Yulenmis Aguilar in 2015, and Vilagos is now only 34cm away from it, and given she&rsquo;s eligible for the U20 category next year it could be living on borrowed time. &nbsp;</p>
<p>She&rsquo;d like to get closer to it in Munich, but her goal is far more simplistic.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Just to watch how it is in a competition I&rsquo;ve never been in before, and to throw good,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;Then I&rsquo;ll be happy.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics<br /><br /></strong></p>

World Athletics U20 Championships

It all started with the vortex – a small, American football-shaped foam missile with an aerodynamic tail.

From the vortex to global victory for Vilagos

<p>Outside his home in Brovary, Ukraine, Artur Felfner looked to the skies in late February and saw a terrifying sight.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Russian bombs were dropping on all people in the area,&rdquo; says Felfner. &ldquo;The first day, I see Russian planes (dropping) bombs in my city &ndash; not (on) my home, but near my home.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Brovary is a city of about 100,000 inhabitants, an eastern suburb of the country&rsquo;s capital, Kyiv, and Felfner struggles to find the words when asked to describe what life was like there at the end of February and the start of March.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really not good,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think about sport in this time.&rdquo;</p>
<p>On 26 March, he left Ukraine and travelled to Portugal, where he was based for two months alongside other Ukrainian athletes like Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk and Yaroslava Mahuchikh. In May Felfner relocated to Finland, where he spent the next two months with his coach, Rymko Vyacheslav, and trained alongside Finnish thrower Janne Laspa, who had beaten Felfner to gold by just 14cm at last year&rsquo;s World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I have to say thank you so much to Finland,&rdquo; says Felfner. &ldquo;The conditions there were so good. And I did it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>By &lsquo;did it&rsquo;, he means he became a world U20 champion, despite all he faced this year.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62f66a9dd903618d42fdb452.jpg" alt="Ukraine's Artur Felfner celebrates his javelin win at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Ukraine's Artur Felfner celebrates his javelin win at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 (&copy; Marta Gorczynska)</p>
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<p>Granted, Felfner was the overwhelming favourite for men&rsquo;s javelin gold at the&nbsp;<strong>World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22</strong>, but that&rsquo;s not to say it came easy. He went into the event as the only thrower who&rsquo;d ever gone beyond the 80-metre mark, launching the spear 84.32m in Samorin, Slovakia, in June, moving him to fourth on the world U20 all-time list.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But going to Cali he had a niggle in his foot and, given the Ukrainian team did not have a physio there, Felfner&rsquo;s coach asked for help from the Irish team that was sharing their hotel. The Irish team physiotherapist, John Fagan, treated Felfner&rsquo;s injury and taped his foot ahead of the qualification round and final.</p>
<p>The evening of his final last Friday (5), Felfner had one last issue to contend with: an hour-long delay due to a thunderstorm.&nbsp;</p>
<p>When he eventually took to the runway, he grabbed the lead in the opening round with a 76.20m throw, but was soon overtaken by Germany&rsquo;s Max Dehning, who threw 77.24m in the second round. It took Felfner until the fifth round to better that, but his 79.36m there put the competition to bed.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Not that he was overly impressed by his effort.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;The result is not good for me, I need over 80 metres,&rdquo; he said, draped in a Ukrainian flag, the symbolism of his victory not lost on him. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important for me, yes. A lot of guys in Ukraine tonight &ndash; my family, my friends &ndash; see this competition on (the) live stream and I&rsquo;m so happy about that medal.&rdquo;</p>
<p>During the first few months of the war, his mother and brother relocated to Bulgaria, but they have since returned to Brovary, and Felfner hopes to join them in September. But first, he&rsquo;s got another championship looming: next week&rsquo;s Europeans in Munich. Felfner is ranked ninth in the men&rsquo;s javelin field, and his goal is simple.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;If I throw qualification, I&rsquo;ll be really happy,&rdquo; he says.&nbsp;</p>
<p>For many years, the javelin has been the world around which his life has orbited. On the inside of Felfner&rsquo;s right wrist, there&rsquo;s a tattoo of a figure throwing a spear, which he had inked there at the age of 15, shortly after he first surpassed the 70-metre barrier.&nbsp;<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62f66ad7d903618d42fdb455.jpg" alt="Ukrainian javelin thrower Artur Felfner at the 2021 European U20 Championships in Tallinn" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Ukrainian javelin thrower Artur Felfner at the 2021 European U20 Championships in Tallinn (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p>He was eight when he first tried the event, picking it up from his father, an athletics coach. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s not good with technique,&rdquo; says Felfner.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In his early teens, Felfner enrolled in a sports school and began to work with Vyacheslav, his current coach. His big breakthrough came in 2019, when he threw 79.37m at an international match event in Kyiv. He was just 15 at the time. The following year, he improved to 82.08m and in 2021 he won European U20 gold and world U20 silver.</p>
<p>When it comes to throwing, his role model is two-time Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway, whose technique he has studied extensively, alongside that of world record-holder Jan Zelezny. In June, Felfner edged ahead of Thorkildsen on the world U20 all-time list with 84.32m, and only three athletes are now ahead of him on that list.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Two of them &ndash; India&rsquo;s Neeraj Chopra and Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s Keshorn Walcott &ndash; went on to become Olympic champions, but when Felfner looks at the road ahead, he&rsquo;s taking it steady. He has three main goals next year: to throw over 85 metres, to qualify for the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, and to take gold at the European U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But, more immediately, he&rsquo;s looking forward to something else: his return to Brovary next month to recommence his studies and reunite with his family.&nbsp;</p>
<p>And as he notes, most importantly of all: &ldquo;They are safe.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Cathal&nbsp;Dennehy for World Athletics<br /><br /></strong></p>

Outside his home in Brovary, Ukraine, Artur Felfner looked to the skies in late February and saw a terrifying sight. 

Despite all he faced, Felfner achieves aim - getting gold for Ukraine

<p>More than 1500 athletes from 145 teams are set to compete at the <strong>World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22</strong> between 1-6 August.</p>
<p>Here we take a look at the women's and men's throwing events at the Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium.<br /><br /></p>
<h2>Women&rsquo;s shot put</h2>
<p>The gold and silver medallists from last year's World U20 Championships in Nairobi go head-to-head again. South Africa&rsquo;s Mine de Klerk and Turkey&rsquo;s Pinar Akyol have PBs just 10cm apart - Akyol having thrown 17.65m in May 2021 and De Klerk setting an area U20 record of 17.55m in the February. When it comes to performances this year, Akyol leads the way with her 17.46m indoor PB set in January, while her best outdoor performance this season is 16.53m. De Klerk, meanwhile, leads the season top list with her 17.19m from April&rsquo;s Hayward Premiere at Hayward Field, which recently welcomed athletes for the World Athletics Championships Oregon22. Now studying at the University of Oregon, De Klerk is sure to have been inspired by the performances taking place on her university campus. De Klerk also secured silver in the discus in Nairobi and is set to double up again in Cali.</p>
<p>Separating the pair when it comes to performances this year is Germany&rsquo;s European U20 bronze medallist Nina Ndubuisi. The 18-year-old threw a 17.27m PB indoors and has recorded 17.01m this season. On paper, this would look to be the battle for the medals, the trio being the 17 metre-plus throwers in the field, but Amelia Flynt won the US U20 title and has thrown a 16.53m PB this year, while Germany&rsquo;s Jaqueline Gippner and Czech Republic&rsquo;s Katrin Brzyszkowska have also achieved PBs surpassing 16 metres this season.<br /><br /></p>
<h2>Men&rsquo;s shot put</h2>
<p>Germany&rsquo;s Tizian Lauria tops this year&rsquo;s global list with the 21.15m PB he threw in June, a mark that adds more than a metre and a half to his best with the 6kg implement before this year. He has also thrown 20 metres or further on six other occasions this year, including when winning at the BAUHAUS Junioren-Gala in Mannheim at the start of July.</p>
<p>He is one of four athletes on the entry list to have surpassed that 20-metre mark, including his compatriot Lukas Schober, the national U20 champion. The 17-year-old threw 20.16m when winning that German title.</p>
<p>Joining them at the top of the entry list are Jamaican duo Christopher Young and Kobe Lawrence. Young claimed wins at the Jamaican Championships and ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Champs ahead of Lawrence, but Lawrence turned the tables at the CARIFTA Games, going beyond 20 metres for the first time with 20.02m. Young&rsquo;s PB is 20.20m, while Lawrence has the benefit of experience, having made the final at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi last year. South African U20 champion Aiden Smith is also just behind them with 19.99m this year.<br /><br /></p>
<h2>Women&rsquo;s discus</h2>
<p>Sweden&rsquo;s Emma Sralla and Jamaica&rsquo;s Cedricka Williams have both thrown beyond 56 metres this year, US-based Sralla leading the entries with her 56.38m national U20 record from Mckinney in April and Williams improving her PB to 56.21m when winning the Jamaican title in June.</p>
<p>South Africa&rsquo;s Mine de Klerk is a couple of metres behind them when it comes to performances this season, but she improved her PB to an area U20 record of 54.22m in March and has great experience to call upon, claiming a surprise silver last year.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I definitely wanted to win a medal in the shot put, gold was my goal,&rdquo; said last year&rsquo;s champion in that discipline. &ldquo;In the discus, I didn&rsquo;t expect to get a medal at all. I just came to enjoy it. When I got the silver I was blown away.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Williams was also in that world U20 final, securing seventh place.</p>
<p>US U20 champion Siniru Iheoma and runner-up Ames Burton are the other 54 metre-plus throwers in the field, respectively having improved their PBs to 54.47m and 54.08m this year.<br /><br /></p>
<h2>Men&rsquo;s discus</h2>
<p>Germany&rsquo;s Mika Sosna made history earlier this year, breaking the world U20 record with the 1.75kg discus in June as he threw 71.37m in Schonebeck. That improved on the 70.13m record set by Ukraine&rsquo;s Mykyta Nesterenko in 2008 and is almost two metres further than&nbsp;<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Sosna's</span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">&nbsp;nearest rival this year, his teammate Marius Karges.</span></p>
<p>Sosna suffered injury after his record-breaking throw but rebounded to win the German title with a 64.92m performance, while Karges threw 64.11m for the runner-up spot. Their PBs put the pair more than six metres ahead of the rest of the entries, though Spain&rsquo;s Marcos Moreno and Jamaica&rsquo;s Kobe Lawrence will also be among those in the hunt for a medal, both having surpassed 62 metres this year. Lawrence is doubling up with the shot put and won the Jamaican U20 and CARIFTA Games discus titles, while placing second at the ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Champs. His teammate Christopher Young was runner-up at the Jamaican U20 Championships and CARIFTA Games and is also doing the throws double in Cali, with a discus PB of 61.66m from February.</p>
<p>Moreno was ninth in the world U20 final last year, one place ahead of Dimitrios Pavlidis of Greece, who also returns.<br /><br /></p>
<h2>Women&rsquo;s hammer&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Rachele Mori has thrown an Italian U20 record of 68.04m this year to lead the entries for Cali by more than two metres. That performance came at the Meeting Internazionale Citta' di Lucca and the 19-year-old also won the national U20 title as well as placing runner-up at the senior event in Rieti in June. She has thrown beyond 65 metres in a total of six competitions this season.</p>
<p>Should all go to season&rsquo;s form, Mori &ndash; who finished sixth in Nairobi last year &ndash; should be going for gold this time, but there could be a close battle for the other podium places.</p>
<p>Her closest challengers look to be German U20 champion Jada Julien and Czech U20 title winner Barbora Stejfova, who have both gone beyond 65 metres this year with respective PB performances of 65.90m and 65.20m. Stejfova also made the final last year.</p>
<p>Emily Fink improved her best to 63.60m in May and secured her spot on the team for Cali by winning the US title, while Audrey Jacobs claimed both the Dutch senior and U20 titles and threw her 63.52m PB in June.&nbsp;Valentina Savva of Cyprus was fifth in the world U20 final last year and the 17-year-old recently claimed the European U18 title in Jerusalem. She threw a national U20 record of 62.70m in June.&nbsp;<br /><br /></p>
<h2>Men&rsquo;s hammer</h2>
<p>In an event featuring five athletes to have gone beyond 75 metres this season, it is Hungary&rsquo;s Miklos Cseko who leads them all with the 78.44m PB he threw at the International U20 Match in Maribor earlier this month. The national U20 champion has surpassed 75 metres in five competitions this season.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the medal hunt, there looks set to be a strong Greek domestic battle between Nikolaos Polychroniou and Ioannis Korakidis, with the pair separated by only 20 centimetres &ndash; 77.72m to 77.52m &ndash; this season. The now US-based Polychroniou won the national U20 title earlier this year, while Korakidis was runner-up behind him at the Greek U20 Championships. Slovenia&rsquo;s Jan Embersic and USA&rsquo;s Tarik O'Hagan have both also surpassed 75 metres this season, respectively throwing 76.79m and 75.08m PBs.<br /><br /></p>
<h2>Women&rsquo;s javelin</h2>
<p>Serbia&rsquo;s Adriana Vilagos won last year&rsquo;s world U20 javelin gold at the age of 17 and she is now one of the big favourites to retain her title, having thrown three-and-a-half metres further than any of her rivals this season. Holder of the world U18 best, Vilagos has since thrown a national U20 record of 62.76m this year and has won eight of her 10 competitions this season, including at the Balkan Championships, Mediterranean Games, Serbian Championships and Serbian U20 Championships.</p>
<p>There are a number of athletes who could challenge for medals. South Africa&rsquo;s McKyla van der Westhuizen claimed silver at the African Championships last month and will be looking to build on her sixth-place in Nairobi last year, while Fanni Kover has only lost once so far this season and that was at the senior Hungarian Championships. Their fellow 57 metre-plus thrower Momoko Tsuji, the Japan U20 champion, competes, as does her compatriot Aoi Murakami, who threw a PB of 56.30m in Tokyo in June.&nbsp;<br /><br /></p>
<h2>Men&rsquo;s javelin</h2>
<p>If he achieves a mark close to his world U20 leading PB of 84.32m, then Ukraine&rsquo;s Artur Felfner looks tough to beat in the men&rsquo;s javelin. The 18-year-old leads the entries by more than four metres, his PB putting him fourth on the world U20 all-time list led by India&rsquo;s Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra. As a 17-year-old, Felfner secured silver at last year&rsquo;s event in Nairobi, also claiming the European U20 title, and now he will be going for global gold.</p>
<p>CARIFTA Games winner Keyshawn Strachan of The Bahamas is this season&rsquo;s No.2 and has ambitions of achieving an 85 metre throw to build on the national record of 79.89m he set in April. He also has experience of competing at the event, having placed seventh in Kenya last year. The top three on the entry list have all surpassed 78 metres this year, Felfner and Strachan joined by Germany&rsquo;s 17-year-old Max Dehning, who improved his PB to 78.80m when winning at the BAUHAUS Junioren Gala in Mannheim earlier this month. He also claimed the German U20 title and threw 78.05m in Halle in May.</p>
<p>Also looking to make an impact will be Dehning&rsquo;s teammate Simon Schmitt, the German U20 Championships runner-up, as well as Hungary&rsquo;s Gyorgy Herczeg and Cypriot champion Eleftherios Kontonikolas.</p>
<p><strong>Jess Whittington for World Athletics<br /><br /></strong></p>

A look at the women's and men's shot put, discus, hammer and javelin

WU20 Cali 22 preview: throws

<p>The World Athletics Championships Oregon22 has now had two back-to-back javelin winners.</p>
<p>Twenty-four hours after Australia&rsquo;s Kelsey-Lee Barber successfully defended her title, Grenada&rsquo;s Anderson Peters won his second successive world gold medal in the event.</p>
<p>He did so with one of the greatest ever javelin series, producing three throws beyond the 90-metre line to hold off the challenge from Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra of India and Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic.</p>
<p>Vadlejch, second in the throwing order, took an early lead with 85.52m but Peters soon made his intentions known by opening with 90.21m. Germany&rsquo;s Julian Weber also got off to a strong start with 86.86m &ndash; a mark which remained his best of the night.</p>
<p>Peters and Vadlejch improved in round two, throwing 90.46m and 87.23m respectively. Chopra then found his groove in round three, landing a throw of 86.37m to move into fourth place. It spurred Vadlejch into producing his best mark of the night, 88.09m, just minutes later.</p>
<p>Chopra surpassed the Czech thrower in the next round, though, sending his javelin out to 88.13m to move into second place. But there was no catching Peters.</p>
<p>Vadlejch and Chopra were unable to get close to the Grenadian&rsquo;s leading mark in the last two rounds. By the time Peters took to the runway for the last time, he knew the title was his.</p>
<p>He didn&rsquo;t ease off, though. His javelin set sail in Eugene&rsquo;s evening sky and once again landed beyond the 90-metre line. The distance was confirmed at 90.54m &ndash; his best of the night.</p>
<p>Before this year, Peters&rsquo; best stood at 87.31m, set when winning the 2019 Pan American Games title. He has now surpassed that mark 16 times, seven of which have been beyond 90 metres.</p>
<p>Weber remained in fourth place, while Arshad Nadeem placed fifth with 86.16m, becoming the first athlete from Pakistan to achieve a top-eight finish at the World Championships. Finland&rsquo;s Lassi Etelatalo was sixth (82.70m). Moldova&rsquo;s Andrian Mardare and Finland&rsquo;s Oliver Helander also threw beyond 82 metres in seventh and eighth respectively.</p>
<p>Only one man, world record-holder Jan Zelezny, had previously won back-to-back world titles in the javelin. And while Peters was happy to join the legendary Czech thrower in that exclusive club, he had been hoping to throw a bit farther.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Defending a title is not an easy task; I had to push myself,&rdquo; said the 24-year-old. &ldquo;I was pretty happy that I managed to do it, although I was hoping for longer throws today. I just wanted to go out there and enjoy the event and to put on a show. This is my second gold, so I am very grateful for that.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Most throwers prefer the wind from behind but today we had a head wind, so it was a bit challenging but I pulled it off,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;It was not really important to beat anyone in particular but it was good to go out there and have fun.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Chopra was relieved to emerge with a medal after feeling a niggle in warm-up.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I have to congratulate Peters and Jakub,&rdquo; said the Indian superstar. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t feel good during my first three throws. My warm-up was not good; I felt something in my groin during my throw but I think it is OK. Throwing in this wind was also a learning experience. But we have the World Championships again next year, so I will try to do better in Budapest.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3"><strong>MEN'S JAVELIN MEDALLISTS</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Anderson Peters 🇬🇩 GRN</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">90.46m</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Neeraj Chopra 🇮🇳 IND</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">88.13m</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Jakub Vadlejch 🇨🇿 CZE</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">88.09m</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #ffffff;"><strong><a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/men/javelin-throw/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></strong></span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><em>&nbsp;</em></p>

World Athletics Championships, Oregon 2022

Grenadian takes command of the the competition with three throws beyond 90 metres

Peters retains world javelin title with dominant series in Oregon

<p>All it takes is one big throw.</p>
<p>That&rsquo;s precisely what Kelsey-Lee Barber produced at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, becoming the first woman to win back-to-back world javelin titles.</p>
<p>Since winning the world title in 2019, Barber struggled with back and neck issues but peaked well at the Tokyo Olympics to claim bronze.</p>
<p>The Australian once again produced her best throw of the year &ndash; and, in fact, the second-best mark of her career &ndash; to claim gold here in Oregon, winning with a world-leading 66.91m which came in the third round.</p>
<p>For all the other medal contenders, however, most of the excitement came in the final two rounds.</p>
<p>When Kara Winger started down the runway, the Hayward Field crowd was cheering for the US thrower, who by that point had settled into fifth place. The 36-year-old, who has represented the US at four Olympic Games and six World Championships, was looking for a happy ending to her international career.</p>
<p>She sent her javelin out to 64.05m, her best throw of the competition by nearly two meters and enough to move into the silver medal position, where she stayed until the end of the contest.</p>
<p>Not only was it the first global medal of her career, it was also USA&rsquo;s first women&rsquo;s javelin medal at the World Championships.</p>
<p>Then, like Winger, Japan&rsquo;s Haruka Kitaguchi surged at the end of the competition when she threw 63.27m on her final attempt.</p>
<p>Up until the last-effort strength of Winger and Kitaguchi, it appeared as though Australia would claim two medals. Barber&rsquo;s compatriot Mackenzie Little had opened with a PB of 63.22m, which put her in first place for the first two rounds, and second place until China&rsquo;s Olympic champion Liu Shiying threw 63.25m in round four.</p>
<p>Ultimately, though, Liu and Little finished shy of the podium after Winger and Kitaguchi&rsquo;s inspired sixth-round efforts.</p>
<p>Barber said she was reminded of her experience winning at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, when she became the first woman from the southern hemisphere to become a javelin world champion.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I am just really soaking up the moment. I got to experience it for the first time in Doha. It was a world of emotions,&rdquo; said Barber. &ldquo;I am cementing my place as one of the world's best javelin throwers and I want to keep building on that.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Winger, meanwhile, was delighted to finally earn a medal on home turf.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I just had so many opportunities and so much support from the local crowd,&rdquo; said Winger, who grew up two hours away in Vancouver, Washington. &ldquo;To grab a medal here almost at home, at Hayward Field &ndash; it is what I dreamed about. But I am still in disbelief that it actually happened.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Kitaguchi&rsquo;s last throw was an emotional moment for the athlete who missed the 2019 World Championships team by just six centimetres. After her distance illuminated the board, she dropped to her knees in joy. Then Kitaguchi pulled herself up, ran over to the stands where her mom was watching her, and then sank once more to the ground, overcome.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I made history,&rdquo; said Kitaguchi, who won Japan&rsquo;s first ever World Championships medal in the women&rsquo;s javelin. &ldquo;My goal was to get to the top eight in the final. I did not think about the medal before.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Madeline Ryan for World Athletics</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3"><strong>WOMEN'S JAVELIN MEDALLISTS</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Kelsey-Lee Barber 🇦🇺 AUS</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">66.91m WL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Kara Winger 🇺🇸 USA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">64.05m</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Haruka Kitaguchi 🇯🇵 JPN</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">63.27m</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #ffffff;"><strong><a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/women/javelin-throw/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></strong></span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><em>&nbsp;</em></p>

Australian throws 66.91m, becoming first back-to-back winner of the women's javelin

Barber retains javelin title with world-leading throw in Oregon

<p><span lang="EN-US">A throw of 85 metres is what Bahamian javelin talent Keyshawn Strachan hopes to achieve when he steps into the Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium for the <strong>World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22</strong> from 1-6 August.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">The 18-year-old currently sits second on this season's world U20 top list for the event and aims to build on his PB and national record of </span>79.89m when he returns to the global stage in Colombia.</p>
<p>Strachan achieved that PB at the <span lang="EN-US">CARIFTA Games in Kingston in April, where he improved on the previous </span>CARIFTA U20 record of 78.28m that had been held by Grenada&rsquo;s 2019 world champion Anderson Peters since 2016.</p>
<p>Understandably, Peters is an inspiration to&nbsp;Strachan, as is&nbsp;Trinidadian Keshorn Walcott, who won the 2012 Olympic javelin title.</p>
<p>"I look to them because they're both from the Caribbean and they're some of the best in the world," Strachan says.</p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">Strachan grew up on Andros, the largest island in The Bahamas, before his family migrated to the capital in New Providence. </span>Previously a basketball player, the teenager has now been throwing for<span lang="EN-US"> almost five years.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">"Each season, I have seen my growth," he says. "</span><span lang="EN-US">Traveling to Nassau (the capital of The Bahamas), I would watch my older cousin Daniecio Burrows compete in meets and the javelin grabbed my attention.&rdquo;</span><span lang="EN-US"><br /><br /></span></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62cc19a6280c06014ee05cb5.jpg" alt="Keyshawn Strachan competes at the World Athletics U20 Championships Nairobi 21" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Keyshawn Strachan competes at the World Athletics U20 Championships Nairobi 21 (&copy; Roger Sedres)</p>
</div>
<p><span lang="EN-US">When he returned to Andros, Strachan expressed to his coach that he was interested in throwing the javelin at the High School Nationals and his coach gave him the green light.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">"My first season in throwing, I won&rsquo;t say it was bad," Strachan adds. "I was still new at it and my personal best was 44 metres in 2018. Then I started working w</span><span lang="EN-US">ith Coach (</span><span lang="EN-US">Corrington&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-US">Maycock, head coach at Blue Chip Throwers Club</span><span lang="EN-US">) </span><span lang="EN-US">and began to progress. Then I moved up to 53 metres.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">"</span><span lang="EN-US">2019 was my breakout year."</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">I</span>t was during that year at the CARIFTA Games in George Town, Cayman Islands, that he set a national U17 record with a throw of 64.31m.</p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">"I knew from there I would start climbing,"&nbsp;</span>Strachan says.</p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">But his journey did not come without its challenges. Like many other athletes, Strachan saw his 2020 season paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But </span><span lang="EN-US">he returned in 2021 with a vengeance, with several outstanding throws at local and international competitions.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">At the NACAC U23 Championships in San Jose, Strachan threw an impressive 72.13m, securing silver.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">"</span><span lang="EN-US">That&rsquo;s when I knew I had more in the tank," he explains.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">A few weeks later, at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Strachan followed up by throwing 70.30m and finished seventh.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">The young thrower then improved further, to that 79.89m at the 49th edition of the CARIFTA Games.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">As Strachan prepares for the World U20 Championships in Cali, he adds: "I am most looking forward to the competition, which has gotten better over the last year. I am looking to throw at least 85 metres. I know I have some work to do as I need to improve on my consistency heading into the championships."</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">Ukraine's </span>Artur Felfner leads this season's world U20 top list with his 84.32m throw from June, while Germany's Max Dehning sits third on the list with 78.80m.&nbsp;Felfner's performance moved him to fourth on the world U20 all-time list, which is topped by India's now Olympic champion&nbsp;Neeraj Chopra with his 86.48m throw from 2016.</p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">Strachan's career has already taken him to </span><span lang="EN-US">Auburn University in Alabama, United States, where he&nbsp;</span>plans to major in aviation and<span lang="EN-US">&nbsp;will be coached by Pat Ebel and Leroy</span><span lang="EN-US"> Burrell.</span><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p>
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<p><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US">"The transition process should not be hard, because I knew the day would come when I would head off to college," he says. "I know Coach Maycock will still be on the sideline, making sure I stay on top."</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">While his current focus might be on Cali,&nbsp;</span>Strachan<span lang="EN-US"> has even bigger ambitions and&nbsp;</span>is already on the hunt for a gold medal for The Bahamas <span lang="EN-US">at the 2024 Paris Olympics.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">&ldquo;Through God I'll make the team," he adds.</span></p>
<p><strong><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">Laurencia Smith for World Athletics<br /><br /></span></span></strong></p>

Keyshawn Strachan hopes to follow in the footsteps of fellow Caribbean throwers Anderson Peters and Keshorn Walcott

Rising javelin star Strachan continues to climb ahead of Cali

<h2>Women's javelin</h2>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/timetable/bydiscipline/women/javelin-throw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a></strong></span>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/javelin-throw/women?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a></strong></span>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/throws/javelin-throw/outdoor/women/senior/2022?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 world list</a></strong></span>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/throws/javelin-throw/outdoor/women/senior?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true&amp;firstDay=1900-01-01" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>world all-time list</strong></a></span>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/throws/javelin-throw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it works</a></strong></span></p>
<p>The door would appear to be ajar for a new global javelin champion to emerge on the in-field at Hayward Field.</p>
<p>Of the throwers who made the medal podium at the Olympic Games in Tokyo a year ago, none feature in the world top 20 in 2022.</p>
<p>Olympic champion Liu Shiying is in the Chinese squad but has not registered a mark this year. Silver medallist Maria Andrejczyk of Poland, who led the world order in 2021 with a mighty 71.40m, is down in 65th place with a season&rsquo;s best of 57.53. Bronze medallist Kelsey-Lee Barber is 24th with 61.40m.</p>
<p>The Australian Barber is, of course, the defending world champion. Liu took the silver behind her in Doha three years ago and compatriot Lyu Huihiu the bronze.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/ddc1c5d1-bd2a-4941-9991-3f6c3c050fa9.jpg" alt="Kelsey-Lee Barber in the javelin at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Kelsey-Lee Barber in the javelin at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p><br />Lyu has made the podium at the past three World Championships, having taken silver in Beijing in 2015 and bronze in London in 2017. But the 33-year-old&rsquo;s season&rsquo;s best, 57.43m, good enough for 67th on the world list, doesn&rsquo;t suggest she is on course to mount a challenge for a medal.</p>
<p>Of the established older order, Germany&rsquo;s Christin Hussong has the best form. Fourth at the 2019 World Championships and ninth at the Olympics in Tokyo, the 28-year-old European champion stands fourth on the 2022 world list with 64.87m. In 2021 she had seven of the top 13 throws and won nine of her 13 competitions.</p>
<p>The longest throw of 2022 belongs to Maggie Malone. The two-time US champion threw 65.73m at the Harry Jerome International Track Classic in Burnaby, Canada, on 14 June. In her other two competitions, the 28-year-old from Texas failed to register a valid mark &ndash; at the USATF Throws Fest in Tucson on 21 May and, notably, at the US Championships in Eugene on 25 June.</p>
<p>Malone has only made it into the US team because just two of her compatriots meet the World Championship qualifying criteria: Kara Winger, who took the national title with 64.26m, the fifth best throw on the world list, and Pan American Games bronze medallist Ariana Ince, who took second place with 60.43m.</p>
<p>Malone finished 10th in last year&rsquo;s Olympic final but will be making her World Championships debut in Eugene. She has the chance to become the first US thrower to make the podium.</p>
<p>So, for that matter, does Winger, the nine-time US champion and Pan American Games title-holder.</p>
<p>At 36, the Seattle native is a veteran of five World Championships, with a highest placing of fifth in Doha in 2019. Her lifetime best, 66.67m, dates back to 2010.</p>
<p>All of the field in Eugene, though, will be wary of the threat posed by the burgeoning Greek teenager Elina Tzengko.</p>
<p>Last year the 19-year-old took three medals: silver at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi and golds at the European U20 and Balkan Championships.&nbsp; This year she has continued her upward trajectory, throwing a national U23 record of 65.70m to win at the Golden Spike Meeting in Ostrava on 31 May.</p>
<p>Of the throwers on the entry list for the World Championships, only Malone boasts a superior mark in 2022. And only one Greek woman in history has thrown farther.</p>
<p>Mirela Manjani threw 67.51m for Olympic silver in Sydney in September 2000 &ndash; two years, to the month, before Tzengko was born.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Other potential challengers who have thrown beyond 63 metres this season are Japan&rsquo;s 2013 world U18 champion Haruka Kitaguchi (63.93m), Asian silver medallist Annu Rani of India (63.82m), Canada&rsquo;s 2015 Pan American Games champion Liz Gleadale (63.33m) and Australian Mackenzie Little, who placed eighth in last year&rsquo;s Olympic final.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Men's javelin</h2>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/timetable/bydiscipline/men/javelin-throw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a></strong></span>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/javelin-throw/men?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a></strong></span>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/throws/javelin-throw/outdoor/men/senior/2022?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 world list</a></strong></span>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/throws/javelin-throw/outdoor/men/senior?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true&amp;firstDay=1900-01-01" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>world all-time list</strong></a></span>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/throws/javelin-throw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it works</a></strong></span></p>
<p>With the world lead in his possession, a prodigious 93.07m, and four of the top five throws in all, Anderson Peters heads to the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 as the stand-out contender for gold.</p>
<p>The 24-year-old Grenadian has shown his sheer class and instinctive competitiveness in a variety of conditions, meeting and eclipsing the challenges thrown down by his many rivals.</p>
<p>Returning to the scene of his 2019 world title success, in the first Wanda Diamond League meeting of the season amid strong winds in Doha on 13 May he opened with an 88.96m national record, then responded to Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch&rsquo;s 90.88m with a monster 93.07m to go fifth on the world all-time list with a North and Central American and Caribbean record.</p>
<p>In the driving rain, sweeping winds and bitter cold of Hengelo on 6 June, Peters&rsquo; hands were so frozen he couldn&rsquo;t feel them when he took his opening throw. Metaphorically, though, he more than warmed to the competition.</p>
<p>After Germany&rsquo;s Julian Weber (84.91m) and Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott (88.70m) threw meeting records, Weber nailing another with 88.29m, Peters trumped them both with a mighty 90.75m in round four.</p>
<p>The same competitive spirit pulled Peters through an injury-troubled period on Finnish soil &ndash; in which his form dipped to third-placed finishes in Turku and Kuortane and then ninth in Orimattila, where he threw a season&rsquo;s low 71.94m &ndash; to another thriller of a triumph in the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Stockholm on 30 June.</p>
<p>India&rsquo;s Neeraj Chopra, who beat Peters in Turku and Kuortane, opened in the Swedish capital with an 89.94m national and meeting record. This time Peters uncorked a 90.31m throw in round four to take ownership of another meeting record &ndash; and, more importantly, return to winning form with a bang on the eve of the World Championships.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not really in a great shape,&rdquo; Peters revealed afterwards. &ldquo;I have suffered a back injury. It is still getting better but I hope to be back in a really good shape soon.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Getting the 90m throw here was really good. I was very much motivated by Neeraj to get a 90m throw because he started the competition so well, with a national and meeting record.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I am thinking about what I can do when I don&rsquo;t have this minor injury. When I my body is 100% ready &ndash; when I am able to get the technique and get the rhythm &ndash; I want to see what the result will be.&rdquo;</p>
<p>If the result is a winning one in Eugene, the former Mississippi State University student will become the first male javelin thrower to win back-to-back world titles since the greatest of them all &ndash; Czech soldier Jan Zelezny &ndash; who achieved the feat in 1993-95.</p>
<p>Not that Peters will be blind to the threat posed by Chopra, who started his season deliberately late, having been feted for so long in his homeland after becoming India&rsquo;s first track and field Olympic gold medallist that he did not resume training until December.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/611679be83751946399a5cc8.jpg" alt="Neeraj Chopra in action at the World Championships London 2017" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Neeraj Chopra in action at the World Championships London 2017 (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p><br />The 24-year-old launched his campaign at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet in Turku on 14 June, setting a national record 89.30m as runner up to Finn Oliver Helander&rsquo;s 89.83m lifetime best, then won in Kourtane with 86.89m before improving his national record again in Stockholm.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I am close to 90 metres,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I know I can throw it this year. A lot of guys now are capable of throwing over 90 metres. I think it will take 89 metres plus to win in Eugene.&rdquo;</p>
<p>If Chopra wins, he will become the first male javelin thrower to follow Olympic success with World Championship gold since Norway&rsquo;s Andreas Thorkildsen in 2008-09 and, before that, Zelezny in 2000-01 and 1992-93.</p>
<p>Helander&rsquo;s form might have dipped to fifth spot in Stockholm with 85.40m but the 25-year-old &ndash; who has battled back from a career-threatening shoulder injury, and who is coached by 2007 world champion Tero Pitkamaki &ndash; might like to know that the only two global men&rsquo;s javelin finals contested on US soil were won by Finns: Matti Jarvinen at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles and Arto Harkonen at the 1984 Olympics in LA.</p>
<p>The competition will be missing 2017 world champion and 2019 bronze medallist Johannes Vetter. The 29-year-old German, second on the all-time list with 97.76m, is out with a shoulder injury.</p>
<p>Still, as Peters puts it: &ldquo;In Eugene, it could be anybody&rsquo;s game.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Simon Turnbull for World Athletics</strong></p>

Expected highlights in the women's and men's javelin