Olympic Track and Field 2016: Men's Javelin Throw Medal Winners, Scores, Results
Thomas Rohler of Germany won the 2016 Summer Olympics gold medal in the men's javelin Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro.
With a top distance of 90.30 meters, Rohler edged out Julius Yego of Kenya, who reached 88.24 meters. Trinidad and Tobago's Keshorn Walcott earned bronze.
| 1 | Thomas Rohler | Germany | 90.30 |
| 2 | Julius Yego | Kenya | 88.24 |
| 3 | Keshorn Walcott | Trinidad and Tobago | 85.38 |
| 4 | Johannes Vetter | Germany | 85.32 |
| 5 | Dmytro Kosynskyy | Ukraine | 83.95 |
| 6 | Antti Ruuskanen | Finland | 83.05 |
| 7 | Vitezslav Vesely | Czech Republic | 82.51 |
| 8 | Jakub Vadlejch | Czech Republic | 82.42 |
| 9 | Julian Weber | Germany | 81.36 |
| 10 | Braian Toledo | Argentina | 79.81 |
| 11 | Ryohei Arai | Japan | 79.47 |
| 12 | Petr Frydrych | Czech Republic | 79.12 |
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For Yego, winning the silver was equal parts gratifying and frustrating. The 27-year-old Kenyan led the field for much of the event after hitting 88.24 meters with his first throw. He failed to register a distance on his next three throws, and then on his fifth, he suffered an ankle injury.
As a result, Yego was unable to respond when Rohler jumped into first place on his fifth throw. He hobbled back out to receive his medal.
Still, a second-place finish is more than respectable considering Yego's story. He honed his craft by watching videos on YouTube after not being able to pay for coaching and participation in junior tournaments, per Robert Howell and Phoebe Park of CNN. YouTube congratulated Yego on how far he has come:
For Rohler, Saturday's win was just under his career best (91.28 meters) that he had set this past June at the Paavo Nurmi Games.
Rohler brought Germany its 17th gold medal of the 2016 Olympics, which is tied with Russia for fourth-highest at the Games.
Post-Event Reaction
"I'm super proud, and (my family is) super proud," Rohler said, per the Olympic News Service's Twitter feed. "I'm just happy for whole track and field in Germany. Everybody is cheering at home. Everybody is awake. I mean, it's three at night in Germany."
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