• The 2015 World Champion is also eyeing a podium finish in Paris to crown his illustrious career.
• Yego hinted that Paris might be his last Olympics and expressed concern over the lack of a successor.
Image: HANDOUT
Olympic silver medallist Julius Yego reckons he can make a throw of 82 metres and this will secure him his spot in the finals at the Paris Olympics.
The YouTube man has not hit the 82-metre mark yet in all competitions he has featured this year.
A throw of 81.74m at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium on March 22 was the closest he has come to the 82m mark.
Yego qualified for the Olympics based on rankings (19th position) with 1,210 points, which was within the Olympic quota of 32 athletes.
As he makes his fourth appearance in the global show, Yego is optimistic of making the finals.
“My target is to qualify for the finals. I am confident of throwing 82m which will guarantee me the automatic qualification to the final,” Yego said.
The 2015 world champion is also eyeing a podium finish in Paris to crown his illustrious career.
“At my age now, I will be happy if I get an Olympic medal. My ultimate goal is to win a gold medal to add to my career achievements,” Yego remarked.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Yego threw a distance of 88.24m to secure silver behind Germany’s Thomas Rohler (90.30m) and ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott (85.38m).
The 35-year-old boasts five African Championship titles ( 76.68m (2012); 84.72m (2014); 77.34m (2018); 79.62m (2022) and 80.24m (2024).
He holds two African titles (2011 – 78.34m and 2019 – 87.73m) as well as the 2014 Commonwealth Games title (83.87m).
He threw a personal best of 92.72m at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China, to secure the title.
Yego aims to fine-tune his run-up speed and throws before the Olympics at Kenya’s training camp in Miramas, Southern France.
“For now, I am working on my throws and speed just to get it right and the distance will automatically come,” Yego noted.
He emphasised the importance of the Miramas camp for pre-Olympic preparations.
“Miramas has all the javelin facilities and that is the most important thing for me. The weather is also good and similar to what we will encounter during the games,” Yego outlined.
However, Yego faces challenges without a coach or training partner in Miramas. “I am used to training alone, but it is difficult not having someone to correct me especially when you are going to a big competition like the Olympics,” he said.
The language barrier with the assigned French coach adds to the difficulty.
“There is a French coach who is here but there is a language barrier. We have a translator but it’s always good to have someone who can speak to me directly. Hopefully, all will go well and I will perform well in Paris,” he pointed out.
Yego hinted that Paris might be his last Olympics and expressed concern over the lack of a successor.
“If I decide to quit today, we have no one who can step into my shoes and represent Kenya. I have tried to elevate the game for 16 years now. We have the talent but the problem is the facilities and finances as well,” Yego said.