NAIROBI, June 16 – Commonwealth champion Julius Yego believes his stunning African record of 91.39m will inspire him to become the first Kenyan to win a field medal at the IAAF World Championships when the biennial global showpiece rolls to Beijing in August.
The You Tube man who improved his 2013 Personal Best (PB) of 85.4m in three successive meetings at Ostrava (86.88), Rome Golden Gala (87.71) before making the milestone achievement in Birmingham (91.39) will resume training for the Worlds in Nairobi as he seeks to improve on his throwing technique.
The two-time African champion who finished fourth at his first Worlds in Moscow two years ago said being a world leader does not put him under pressure despite all focus being on him at the Beijing edition that runs between August 22 and 30.
“Killing them before the World Championships with a big throw is indication I’m physiologically ready. It will not be a surprise to see a Kenyan winning Javelin at the World Championships, after all, who expected me to throw over 91m in Birmingham?
“I have more confidence than 2013, being a world leader is a big boost and encouragement heading to Beijing and I have to keep on walking. God willing, I might get better results than this,” 26-year-old, Yego who returned home Tuesday to a heroic red carpet reception declared.
“My main aim is being in the medal bracket. I need to go back and train on the technique I used in Rome and Birmingham and if my legs will be in good shape during the final of World Championships, I will give it a go.
“We still have a long season to go until the main competition in Beijing; of course, many people will come with the mind that Yego is the man to beat but in sport you have to be ready for anything. For me, I’m always a winner and not a loser,” he asserted.
Yego, who was received by his adoring wife Sincy and three-month old son, Jarvis Kiptoo, admitted throwing the best mark since 2006 only three days after bettering his PB twice, came as a surprise.
“It was not ringing in my mind that I can throw 90m. It came out as a big throw but I had to protest because judges viewed it was outside the sector which was not marked beyond 90m. They had to measure it and found the Javelin landed inside the marked arc.
-Golden son-
“When you keep on improving, it pushes you to go higher, when I did 86.88 my new PB in Ostrava, I was happy because it was my second competition of the season.
“When I went to Rome I did 87.71 so heading to Birmingham I was full of energy and wanted to go higher than that,” he outlined how he has speared his way to a great season thus far.
Yego, who fell nine metres short of his career best at Sunday’s IAAF World Challenge meeting in Rabat, Morocco to finish second behind the man who preceded him as African record-holder, Ihab Abdelrahman of Egypt who won with 85.44m, said he slowed down to avoid injuries.
“In Morocco, I was coming after doing two big throws in less than a week. Psychologically, I was not ready but it finishing second on 83.99m was a good result. My manger told me I need to take it easy because I was coming from a very active outing.”
The Department of Criminal Investigations officer at the National Police Service said his first born is his added motivation as he continues with his chosen path to mint history.
“I already have gold after getting my son when my performance was up! So I’m really looking forward to get gold in Beijing,” he quipped in jest.
“I feel so happy, he has done well and there is no day I will let him down. I normally give him hope, I was watching in my house when I saw him pushing the javelin I just felt like pushing it more head,” his 25 year-old spouse who stood beside him as he lapped the adulation having met the Javelin star in 2008 told Capital Sport.
It was a fitting period to meet the man who has redefined field athletics in a nation renowned for distance running dominance since that is the year his hopes of making his international bow at the IAAF World Juniors in Bydgoszcz, Poland were dashed by Athletics Kenya despite meeting the qualifying standard.