Grenada’s Anderson Peters set a new competition record with a monster throw of 90.61m to take first place, while Germany’s Julian Weber settled for third with 87.08m, according to Olympics.com.
Neeraj, now twice Olympic medalistHe started the evening modestly, failing to clear the 85m mark on any of his first four attempts. He remained in fourth place in the standings for most of the event, but moved up to third place with a throw of 85.58m on his penultimate attempt to earn an extra throw.
In the final round, Neeraj took on Peters and Weber and managed the second best throw of his career. The throw of 89.94m achieved at the Stockholm Diamond League in 2022 remains Neeraj’s personal best and is also the national record in India.
“I didn’t feel great at first, but I’m happy with my throw, especially the second best on my last attempt. It was a tough start, but the comeback was very nice and I enjoyed the fighting spirit I showed,” Neeraj said, as quoted by Olympic.com.
“Although my first few throws were around 80-83 metres, I pushed hard in the last two attempts and finished strong. Competing at this high level, it is important to stay mentally strong and fight back,” the two-time Olympic medallist added. Paris 2024 bronze medallist Anderson Peters set a new meet record by breaking Keshorn Walcott’s 2015 mark of 90.16m in his last attempt to deny Neeraj the top spot. For the second time this month, after the Paris 2024 Olympics, Neeraj Chopra was outclassed despite producing a career-best second throw. Just two weeks ago at the Summer Games, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem set a new Olympic record with a throw of 92.97m, once again denying Chopra victory with a 90m effort.
In Lausanne, Peters looked comfortable from the start and scored the opening goal with a powerful throw of 86.36m before improving it with 88.49m on his second attempt. Weber moved up to second place with 87.08m on his second attempt and maintained that position for the rest of the race.
Following the second-place finish at the Lausanne stage, Neeraj currently sits third in the overall standings and is well placed to qualify for the Diamond League finals, to be held in Brussels in September. He became the first Indian athlete to win the Diamond League title in 2022 before settling for silver last year.
The Lausanne Diamond League competition was the fifth of the season for Neeraj Chopra.
Neeraj has struggled with injuries this season, mainly to his adductor. He admitted that this hampered his performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He had previously also withdrawn from the Ostrava Golden Spike in May as a precautionary measure.
The Brussels Diamond League final will be her last event of the season, according to Olympics.com.
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