In Neeraj Chopra’s quest for Diamond League, the biggest hurdle will be Julian Weber

Since the Paris Olympics, the name of a human hulk from across the border gets often mentioned as a real threat to Chopra’s World Championship ambitions, the most-anticipated track and field competition this year. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, however, has not competed since winning the gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea’s Gumi in May. Since the Olympics final, Neeraj and Nadeem have not featured in the same competition. Nadeem has focused on post calf-surgery rehabilitation. Those seeing the men’s javelin only through the India-versus-Pakistan lens should start paying attention to Germany’s Julian Weber.

At the Diamond League final in Zurich on Thursday, Neeraj will run into Weber, the 30-year-old without an Olympic or a World Championship medal. But this could be the year, the 2022 European champion leaves an imprint on the world stage. If he does so, Weber will also restore Germany’s status as a powerhouse in men’s javelin. The last German to finish on the podium at the World Championship or the Olympic Games was Johannes Vetter, a bronze in 2019.

Germany’s lost glory

Over the past half decade, injuries to Vetter and 2016 Rio Olympics champion Thomas Röhler have hit men’s javelin stocks in the country. For Weber it’s been a case of so near yet so far in the Neeraj-Nadeem-Anderson Peters era. He finished fourth at three major competitions — the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the Eugene World Championships in 2022 and the Budapest World Championships in 2023 — and was sixth at the Paris Olympics.

However, Weber’s season so far has been bookended by two impressive throws, the latest less than a week before the Diamond League Finale.

At the Doha Diamond League in May, Weber raised his game even as Chopra did. Both men entered the 90-metre club for the first time, Weber in dramatic fashion with 91.06 metres in the final round after Chopra had produced his best-ever 90.23 in the third round. The direction of the wind in Doha helped the throwers but what stood out was Weber’s resilience to fightback when he seemed destined to finish second best.

Those seeing the men’s javelin only through the India-versus-Pakistan lens should start paying attention to Germany’s Julian Weber. (Picture credit: Instagram)

On the eve of the Diamond League final, Chopra said if he gets his technique right in competition, he is capable of consistently hitting the 90-metre mark. “I really want to throw more and more consistently… 90 metres. It (Doha) was early in the season, but I still tried to find good technique. In training we are doing really good with my coach Jan Zelezny. I need to focus on the same technique in competition,” Chopra said.

When asked about his speed on the runway, he added: “In the run up I am really, really fast, but I don’t think I am using speed right now. In Doha the 90 meter throw was really good, but technically I don’t want to say that was perfect. If my left leg is straight and I use the perfect block that will be a really good throw. Then I will be satisfied with my speed.”

India’s world champion also said he was taking inspiration from Zelezny on how to produce big throws. “When Jan competed he threw more than 50 times over 90 metres, he was at another level. I always followed him, how he managed all the pressure and these distances. He was really consistent. He always said, technique is my biggest weapon. So I really try to understand what he wants to say, and what he tells me during training. Because technically I don’t think I am at a good level, so I am trying to improve technique,” Chopra added.

After winning in Doha, Weber was asked if he had peaked too early in the season. He said there was more to come. “It is a big motivation for me. I know I have much more potential,” he said.

He sent out another warning with an impressive 89.65 metres to win the Brussels Diamond League last week with Chopra pulling out. “It will mean a lot (winning a medal at the World Championships) for me. I mean I have been fourth three times at the World Championships and the Olympics,” Weber said.

Splitting honours

Since Doha, Neeraj and Weber have split honours in the two competitions they have competed in together — Weber (86.12m) winning in Chorzow, Poland, in May and Neeraj staving off Weber in the Paris Diamond League in June.

But the real test for Weber will be if he can deliver a medal on the big stage at next month’s World Championships. He has bitter memories of World Championships and Olympics, and will want to change that. He’s spoken about how the pressure of expectations got to him at the Eugene World Championships.

“That was the first time where I had difficulties with mental things. Before, I never had problems. I was always on beast mode, competition mode, throwing much farther in competition than training. But this time there was pressure on me. I made it for myself, but also from my surroundings. The news was (saying) the Germans are not any good at sport, there are not many medals, I felt I was one of the only hopes,” Weber had told World Athletics. He bounced back to win the Europeans Championships but the big medal has eluded him.

He started off early in athletics but then turned his attention to handball from the age of 12 to 16. It was his athletics coach who convinced him to return to javelin because of his strong right arm. After a series of disappointments at the big events, Weber, at 30, seems primed to achieve his full potential.