Chopra Dominates Ostrava, Extends Top-Two Streak in Javelin

Neeraj Chopra secured his second consecutive victory in just five days, triumphing at the prestigious Golden Spike Meet in Ostrava, Czechia. This win marks his 24th consecutive finish in the top two, solidifying his status as a dominant force in the world of javelin.

Fresh off his win at the Paris Diamond League, Chopra continued his impressive form in Ostrava. A throw of 85.29m proved sufficient for him to clinch the gold medal at the Golden Spike Meet.

Douw Smit of South Africa delivered a personal best throw of 84.12m, earning him the second-place position. Anderson Peters finished third with a best throw of 83.63m. Peters, however, struggled to maintain consistency after his initial throw, failing to surpass 82m in his subsequent attempts, signaling a continuation of the underwhelming performance he displayed at the Doha Diamond League.

Despite not achieving what he might consider his peak distance, Neeraj is likely unfazed, maintaining his winning momentum leading up to the highly anticipated inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru on July 5.

Peters initially took the lead in Ostrava with his 83.63m throw in the first round, while Neeraj fouled on his first attempt. However, Smit's personal best in the second round displaced Peters, and Neeraj began to find his rhythm with an 83.45m throw.

In the third round, Chopra took the lead with a decisive 85.29m throw, a lead he would not relinquish. Both Peters and Smit struggled to match his distance in their remaining attempts, failing to exceed 82m.

Neeraj, too, faced challenges in maintaining his momentum, recording 82.17m on his fourth attempt, 81.01m on his fifth, and a below-80m throw on his final attempt, which he dismissed by crossing the foul line.

In other events at Ostrava, Mondo Duplantis surpassed his own meet record in the pole vault with a jump of 6.13m. However, he narrowly missed setting his 13th world record, failing to improve upon the 6.28m mark he achieved in Stockholm the previous week. Australian sprinter Gout Gout made a memorable professional debut in Europe, clocking a personal best of 20.02s to secure gold in the 200m.