Data | Neeraj Chopra’s national record javelin throw matched or surpassed only 3% times since 1986 Premium

Chopra’s new national record in javelin throw (89.3m) at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland is the first time an Indian athlete has crossed the 89-metre mark

Illustration: M.U. Ajay Krishna

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra created a new national record (NR) in javelin throw on Tuesday with an 89.3 metre effort at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland. This is the first time an Indian has crossed the 89-metre mark. In fact, the top 11 Indian throws are Chopra’s. Since 1986*, the world over, there have been 187 better throws than Chopra’s national record in recognised athletic events. Of these, 47 throws were by former Czech athlete Jan Zelezny and 30 by the German Johannes Vetter, who is still active. Neeraj Chopra’s national record throw of 89.3m has been matched or surpassed only 3% of the times since 1986

Among Indian athletes

The chart depicts Indian players with throws longer than the 80 m mark. Neeraj Chopra has 34 such throws and Shivpal Singh has 10. Hover over the chart to find the exact figure

• All the 11 longest throws by an Indian were by Neeraj Chopra
• In June 2022, D.P. Manu registered a 84.35m throw in ChennaI
• In December 1998, Ramandeep Singh recorded a 80.56m throw in New Delhi

In the analysis only throws above the 80m mark were considered

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Among world athletes 

The chart shows all the athletes with throws longer than the 89m mark. Czech former track and field athlete Jan Zelezny with 49 throws, German athlete Johannes Vetter with 32 throws and Norwegian athlete Andreas Thorkildsen with 16 throws top the list.

• Zelezny’s throw of 98.48m in 1996 continues to be the world record
• Vetter’s throw of 97.76m in 2020 is the second longest

Top countries

The chart depicts the country-athletes combination for all those who have thrown 89.3m or longer in history. Six Germans have reached the mark, the highest among all nations, followed by five Finnish players.

A rare throw

The chart depicts the % of throws that were equal to or above a particular mark. For instance, 19.8% of all the throws from 1986 were 85m or above. Only 3% of throws were above 89m

• Neeraj Chopra’s national record throw of 89.3m has been matched or surpassed only 3% of the times since 1986 

*Only throws post the redesign of men’s javelin in 1986 were considered for analysis. That was when the javelin’s centre of gravity was moved forward by four centimetres.

Source: worldathletics.org