Ostrava [Czech Republic], June 25 : In five days, two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra claimed his second title after standing triumphant in the javelin throw contest at the 64th Ostrava Golden Spike event on Tuesday.
The reigning world champion, Neeraj, the only person to clear an 85m-plus distance, finished at the top with a throw of 85.29m and registered his 24th straight top-two finish. He continued to extend his dominance, especially after reigning supreme in the Paris Diamond League title last Friday with a mammoth throw of 88.16m.
South Africa's Douw Smit, who registered a throw of 84.12m in his second try, finished second, followed by Grenada's Anderson Peters in third with 83.63m that came in his opening attempt.
At the Ostrava Golden Spike event, Neeraj brushed off stiff competition from Peters and Thomas Rohler, two athletes who appeared to threaten the Indian's dominance at the event and showed signs of sluggishness in their first throws.
Peters didn't offer a sense of surety in his run-up and registered a throw of 83.63m. Rohler, the Rio Olympic champion, was way off his game and heaved the javelin to 69.35m on his return after enduring a period of injuries.
While the duo struggled for rhythm, Neeraj registered a foul throw in his first attempt but nailed his second attempt, registering a distance of 83.45m.
The Indian javelin sensation moved to the top on his third try by sending his javelin to a distance of 85.29m. He breached the 80m mark in his fourth attempt as well, but didn't appear too impressed with the distance of 82.17m.
He continued to hold the top spot while his competitor, Rohler, improved his first attempt distance by registering 77.78m. On his fifth try, Neeraj failed to improve his previous attempt and settled with a throw of 81.01m. He concluded the event with a foul effort in his final throw but stayed at the top to bring the title home.
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