Keshorn Walcott narrowly advances to javelin final in Paris

HE had a nervous wait, but London 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott squeezed his way into the final of the men's javelin event at the 2024 Paris Olympics after finishing 11th in the qualifying round on August 6 at the Stade de France.

Competing in the first of two qualifying groups, Walcott's best throw came on his second of three attempts when he recorded an 83.02-metre distance — falling just 98cm shy of the automatic 84m qualifying mark.

Walcott's first throw was 74.89m, with this third attempt of round one being measured at 82.57m. The two-time Olympic medallist's 83.02m mark placed him sixth out of 16 competitors in his qualifying group.

Four athletes met the automatic qualifying mark in group one, with Germany's Julian Weber, a fourth-place finisher at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, recording an 87.76m mark to qualify on his first attempt.

Kenya's Julius Yego, a silver medallist at the event in Rio 2016, notched a season-best best of 85.97m to qualify on his third and final attempt. Finland's Toni Keranen threw a personal best of 85.27m to qualify for the final with his final throw.

Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch (85.63m) was the other automatic qualifier from group one.

Another Finnish athlete, Oliver Helander (83.81m) had the fifth-best mark from the first qualifying group and placed tenth overall.

A further five competitors made the automatic qualifying mark from the second group of javelin throwers, including reigning Olympic champ Neeraj Chopra, Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem and Grenada's two-time world champion Anderson Peters. Chopra's mark of 89.34m was the best among all qualifiers, with Peters' 88.63m throw placing him second overall.

The 31-year-old Walcott has been on the comeback trail in 2024 following a crushing season-ending Achilles heel injury at the World Championships in Hungary last August.

Walcott came to Paris ninth on the world rankings, and a first-place finish at the Kuortane Games in Finland on June 22 was among his best showings this season. Walcott threw a mark of 84.89m on that day.

Walcott's best throw of the season came on home soil at the NGC National Association of Athletics Administrations Junior and Senior Championships at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on June 29 when he copped his eighth national title with an 85.22m throw.

Walcott will contest the javelin final from 2.25 pm on August 8.