Arshad Nadeem in tears of joy after winning gold medal at Paris Olympics 2024. (Picture Credit: Screengrab)
Nadeem twice breached the 90-meter mark on Thursday to create a new Olympic record and become the first Pakistani to win a gold medal in an individual event at the Olympics.
Arshad Nadeem ended Pakistan’s 32-year-old wait for an Olympic medal on Thursday (August 8) by winning gold in the men’s javelin throw final at the Paris Olympics 2024. In his second attempt, the 27-year-old athlete registered a monster throw of 92.97 m to break the Olympic record and also become the first-ever gold medallist in an individual event for Pakistan.
He defeated a star-studded line-up of athletes, which included India’s Neeraj Chopra, Grenada’s Anderson Peters, Germany’s Julian Weber, and the Czech Republic’s Jakub Valdojch.
In the final of the javelin throw event at the Paris Olympics 2024, Nadeem twice breached the 90-meter mark. After creating history in Paris, Nadeem was seen getting emotional and breaking down in tears.
In a video going viral on the internet after the men’s javelin throw final, Nadeem can be seen hugging Pakistani fans, who gathered in large numbers to cheer for him on Thursday.
Nadeem was one of the favourites to win the title, but little did anybody know that he would finish ahead of everyone. In the 12-man final, Nadeem made a forgetful start. His first throw was a failed attempt. But in his second throw, he stunned everyone present at the stadium to break the Olympic record, which was previously held by Andreas Thorkildsen of Denmark, who touched a distance of 90.57 m at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
After taking a handsome lead over his rivals, Nadeem touched the distance of 88.72 m in his third attempt, 79.40 m in the fourth, and 84.87 m in the fifth before finally breaching the 90 m mark and touching and registering the 91.79 m distance in the sixth and last attempt.
His last effort was also even better than that of silver medallist Chopra, who touched the distance of 89.45 m in his second attempt.
By crossing the 90-meter mark twice on Thursday, Nadeem now holds the record for the two best throws in Olympic history.
His win in the final was wildly celebrated by fans in Pakistan, and the star athlete is set to receive a heroic welcome when he returns to Karachi.
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