Former world javelin champion and Olympic silver medalist Julius Yego is building momentum at just the right time.
The Kenyan veteran produced a season-best throw of 83.08m to win gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games on Tuesday night in Turku, Finland – a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event. He edged out Poland’s Cyprian Mrzyglod (82.90m) and Finland’s Toni Keränen (81.96m) to secure his second victory in a week.
Speaking after his win, Yego expressed satisfaction with the result but noted that there’s still more in the tank. “I feel really good, because the most important today was to win,” he said. “I feel that I can do better because my sensations were very good.”
Just days earlier, Yego had claimed victory at the Motonet Grand Prix in Lahti, where he threw 82.95m to beat a competitive field that included Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott (79.98m) and Finland’s Taneli Juutinen (78.24m). That win had marked his most commanding performance of the season.
Yego’s 2025 campaign started on a slower note, with a ninth-place finish at the Doha Diamond League in May (78.52m). It was followed by a fifth-place showing at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi (78.74m). But the double success in Finland signals a significant upturn in form, and he now heads to the Paris Diamond League with renewed confidence.
Formidable Line Up In Paris
At the Paris meet on June 20, Yego will face one of the toughest line-ups of the season. Among his rivals will be Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic and world champion, who returns to Stade Charléty for the first time since 2017.
The field also includes Germany’s Julian Weber, a consistent 90-metre thrower and European champion; Anderson Peters of Grenada, a two-time world champion; and Keshorn Walcott, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist. Moldova’s Andrian Mardare and Brazil’s Luiz Mauricio da Silva round out the high-caliber field.
