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Saturday, October 5, 2024

Javelin star disappointed

Many athletes would be thrilled with a silver medal in a world championships. Norway’s javelin-throwing star Andreas Thorkildsen, however, was his own worst critic over the weekend, after failing to win gold at the International Association of Athletics World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Andreas Thorkildsen wasn't thrilled with his silver medal at the world championships over the weekend. PHOTO: andreasthorikldsen.com

Thorkildsen, now age 29, has been Norway’s surest bet in international track and field competition for years. He’s also the only javelin thrower ever to be European Champion, World Champion and Olympic Champion at the same time.

But on Saturday he threw his javelin 84.78 meters, losing to Matthias DeZordo of Germany, whose javelin landed at 86.27.

“It was my form that day, it was poor,” Thorkildsen told newspaper Aftenposten. “I didn’t have the technique. I need to be glad I threw more than 84 meters. In that regard, I’m satisfied that I got a medal.”

It was, though, his weakest performance at a world championships since 2003. Some claimed he arrived too early at the athletes’ accommodations and that he simply got bored. He said only that “it wasn’t the day I had wanted.”

His former girlfriend, hurdler Christina Vukicevik, couldn’t even participate in the world championships because of injury, so Thorkildsen wasn’t the only one disappointed by this year’s championships.

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