Paavo Nurmi Games 2024: Fans cheer as Neeraj Chopra secures gold with 85.97m throw

Neeraj Chopra did what he is best known for—winning gold medals. He achieved this once again with a resounding victory in the men's javelin throw event at the 2024 Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland on Tuesday (June 18). The reigning Olympic and World champion threw 85.97m on his third attempt, securing the top spot.

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Seeing the star win another gold medal excited fans, who took to social media, particularly X (formerly known as Twitter), to praise him, especially with the Paris Olympics just weeks away.

In the same venue in 2022, Chopra finished in second place with a throw of 89.30 meters, while local athlete Helander won that competition. Chopra initially took the lead with an 83.62m throw in the first round, but Helander briefly surpassed him with his second attempt. Chopra reclaimed the lead with his decisive third throw, which remained unmatched.

Continuing his strong performance, Chopra recorded throws of 82.21m and 82.97m in subsequent attempts, with a foul on his penultimate throw. This event in Finland marked Chopra's third competition of the 2024 season, following appearances at the Doha Diamond League and the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar in May. 

He had withdrawn from the Ostrava Golden Spike Meet as a precaution before returning to form in Turku. He will next be in action at the Paris Diamond League which will take place on July 7.

The 26-year-old outpaced local favourites Toni Keranen (84.19m) and Oliver Helander (83.96m), who finished second and third respectively. His longtime rival Anderson Peters finished fourth with a throw of 82.58m.

Fifth place went to Andrian Mardare of Moldova, who threw 82.19 meters with the 19-year-old German Max Dehning, who set a record-breaking throw of 90.20 meters in February, was unable to reach the 80-meter threshold and ended up sixth with 79.84 meters.

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