Yego’s Olympic ambitions undimmed by shutdown

Kenyan javelin star Julius Yego has not given up on his dreams of gold at the postponed Olympics and world championships — despite age not being on the 31-year-old’s side.

Ever since damaging his groin at the 2016 Rio Olympics, which limited him to only one throw as he head to settle for silver, Yego has struggled to rediscover his very best form.

Last year he was able to compete again without any pain, so the 2020 season had promised much for Yego before the coronavirus pandemic shut down athletics.

For over a month, Yego, who won gold at the 2015 world championships in Beijing, has been unable to throw a javelin as he is holed up at home, in accordance with the Kenyan government’s virus lockdown restrictions.

The hiatus, though, has not dimmed Yego’s ambitions as he targets gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and a year later at the worlds in Eugene, Oregon.

“The Rio Games remains one of those competitions I will never forget. I was so happy despite the fact that I was injured after the first throw and could only settle for silver,” said Yego from Nairobi last Tuesday.

“But the coronavirus is global and all are affected. It is important to remain healthy and safe and return later to dominate the competitions,” he added.

Yego knows he will have a mountain to climb when competition resumes. However, it is a challenge he relishes as he bids to wrest the Olympic crown off Germany’s Thomas Rohler in Tokyo.

“The postponement of the Olympics will buy me more time to train and prepare. I want to return to action. I want to continue pushing my body, challenge my mind and hope that I can beat the mark which I threw in Beijing back in 2015,” he said.

There are signs Yego is returning to his best. For a long time, he struggled to even throw past the 77-meter mark, but last year reached 87.73m to clinch gold at the African Games in Rabat, Morocco.

Now he hopes to bridge the fivemeter gap to the world’s current crop of elite throwers.

“I want that to be at the Olympics. If I can beat my own personal best, let it be at a big championship,” he said.

“I have no more than five years to compete as an elite athlete because my age is advancing.”

Yego, who incredibly taught himself to throw the javelin by watching YouTube tutorials, believes the lockdown in Kenya, and the world at large, will empower athletes to refocus and harness their inner strength to emerge stronger whenever competition is allowed to resume.

“Today I have top coaches helping me,” he said. “I have been exposed to the best training facilities in the world — in Finland and South Africa — and I want to do the best to sign off with a win.”