Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra will compete at the Lausanne Diamond League
Chopra brings strong recent form following his silver medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games
The elite lineup features top names like Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, world champion Keshorn Walcott, and world leader Rumesh Pathirage
Neeraj Chopra to Clash With CWG Gold Medalist Rumesh Pathirage In Star-Studded Lausanne Diamond League Field
Rumesh Pathirage clinched the gold medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with a massive second-round throw of 89.75m, securing Sri Lanka's first-ever athletics gold. Neeraj Chopra briefly claimed the top spot with a season-best effort of 85.83m on his second attempt, ultimately settling for the silver medal
Summary
Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra will feature in a star-studded men's javelin field at the Lausanne Diamond League on August 21, where he is set to face competitors including recently-crowned Commonwealth Games champion and world leader Rumesh Pathirage of Sri Lanka.
The event will, in fact, have five participants from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow that ended on Sunday.
Apart from Pathirage, Chopra will square off against Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, and former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler of Germany, having secured silver in Glasgow with a season-best throw of 85.83m during just his second meet following an injury layoff.
The lineup is further bolstered by Tokyo Olympic silver-medallist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, Germany's Julian Weber, Switzerland's Simon Wieland, and American Curtis Thompson, who currently stands as the world No. 2 this season.
"The five javelin superstars, who have won the last four editions of the Olympic Games and World Championships, will be present at Athletissima on August 21 for a competition of extraordinary quality," the organisers said.
The Lausanne meet will be Chopra's third competition since returning from a lower-back injury that sidelined him in September last year.
The 28-year-old opened his season with an 85.69m effort to finish fourth at the Doha Diamond League in June before improving to 85.83m to claim silver at the Commonwealth Games.
"Although we always want the National anthem to play, I did my season's best and the comeback is going okay. There are other competitions as well. I am happy," Chopra had said after his silver in Glasgow.
Having previously claimed the title in 2022 with an 89.08m effort, Chopra finished as the runner-up at the Lausanne Diamond League in 2024 courtesy of a career-best fourth throw measuring 89.49m.
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Pathirage heads to Lausanne in red-hot form after winning the Commonwealth Games title with 89.75m.
Boasting a personal best of 92.62m registered at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Rome this June, the Sri Lankan stands out as the sole thrower to have crossed the 90m threshold this season.
(With Inputs From PTI)
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