Gatis Cakss in the javelin at the IAAF World Junior Championships, Oregon 2014 (© Getty Images)
Latvia’s Gatis Cakss won the men’s javelin with a last-round throw of 74.04m, his best ever.
The leader from the second round had been Slovenia’s world youth champion Matija Muhar, whose 72.97m effort in that round looked like it would stand for the duration. Muhar, who has the two best junior marks of the year, was heavily favoured for the win, but settled for silver when he was unable to match Cakss’ distance with his last throw.
Andrian Mardare of Moldova, who threw a lifetime best of 74.46m in qualifying on Friday, took bronze with a 72.81m throw in the first round, a mark which had him briefly in the lead until Muhar took over in the second round.
Cakss’ mark moves him to fifth on the year’s junior performance list. It’s the shortest javelin throw to win the World Junior Championships since 1990, when Tommi Viskari won with 73.88m.
Latvia had previously won five medals in the javelin at the World Junior Championships, but this was their first title in the men’s event.
Parker Morse for the IAAF
