Last night at the Doha Diamond League Meeting, we saw two men throw over 90 meters for the first time this season. Germany’s Julian Weber’s final throw of 91.06 meters edged out India’s Neeraj Chopra’s new personal best of 90.23 meters from the third round.
The competition stands out as one of the top javelin battles in the event in recent memory, and a signal that that World Championships has several legitimate contenders for the gold medal. Only 26 men have broken the 90-meter barrier since the IAAF’s javelin redesigns in 1991, and last night we saw two of them.
Neeraj Chopra: Olympic Champion and World Champion Goes 90.23 meters
Neeraj Chopra is already the Olympic Champion from 2020 and the defending World Champion from Budapest two years ago. Despite his accolades, the 90-meter barrier evaded him until last night. His third-round throw eclipsed his World Championship winning mark by more than two meters.
He came close to breaking 90 meters several occasions, throwing 89.94 meters in Stockholm in 2022 and 89.49 meters at the end of last summer in Lausanne. He has also four other throws over the 89-meter mark in his career.
In his own words, Chopra called the results “bittersweet,” showing the quality of the competition in the event at the moment. In his press conference he said:
“I am very happy for the 90m, but this second place – it actually happened to me also when I competed in Turku and in Stockholm. I threw 89.94 and I was always second. And also here. I broke the national record and got second today. But I am very happy also for Julian Weber.”
Chopra was supposed to host the first edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic in India this month but has been indefinitely postponed due to recent escalations in tensions between India and Pakistan.
Julien Weber: Goes 91.06 Meters in the Final Round
Julien Weber had previously broken the 89-meter barrier in 2022, when he threw 89.54 meters at the FBK Games in the Netherlands. He would also go on to throw 89.09m a few weeks later in Sweden.
Last night, he finally broke through the 90 meter landmark with a large personal best, perhaps even surprising himself.
“I don’t know what happened tonight,” said Weber. “I think I’ll have to watch it! I just felt amazing today, I didn’t know how that happened because the previous weeks weren’t that good for me, but I was just feeling great, my physio gave me a really good massage.”
Weber’s highest finish at World Championship is fourth, finishing there in 2022 and 2023. However, he’s arguably now one of the co-favorites leading into the Championships in Tokyo this September.
Other Throwers This Season
Defending Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan threw 92.97 meters last season in Paris, and he’ll look to recapture that form this year. Nadeem hasn’t yet opened his 2025 season, but he’ll be heading to Gumi, South Korea in the upcoming days to prepare for the Asian Athletics Championships from May 27–31.
Anderson Peters, the Olympic Bronze Medalists from last summer finished third this weekend in Doha with a toss of 85.64 meters. The two-time World Champion has already joined the 90 meter club with a personal best of 93.07 meters from 2022.
Who Holds the Javelin World Record?
The world record belongs to Jan ŽELEZNÝ of the Czechia at 98.48 meters. The three-time Olympic Champion also has five throws over the 94.00m barrier.
Although his record looks safe for now, he’s currently the coach of Chopra, so who knows how much further he can push his prodigy.
Next Stop After Doha Diamond League Javelin Competition
The next stop on the Diamond League 2025 tour is Rabat, Morocco on Sunday May 25. In the United States, the meeting will be streaming on FloTrack starting at 6:30 p.m. local time or 1:30 p.m. EST.
The Rabat Meeting will have the women’s Javelin. The next event to contain the men’s javelin will be the Paris meeting on June 20.
