Julius Yego is gearing up for his fourth Olympic appearance after securing a slot at the eleventh hour. Known for winning a Silver medal in the 2016 games, this year has presented challenges, leading him to wait until the final moments to secure his place in Paris.
Often referred to as the “YouTube man,” Yego is currently in Miramas, France, for his pre-Olympic training. Despite acknowledging the difficulty at his age, he remains focused on achieving a podium finish.
“With my age now if I get an Olympic medal, I will be so happy, my ultimate goal is to win gold which would see me accomplish my achievements in my career. I have achieved whatever I wanted as a javelin thrower. I want a continuation of it, I don’t want to stop it, I feel I can still do it,” Yego said.
At 35 years old, Julius Yego has been a stalwart representative for Kenya in numerous major competitions. His achievements include winning a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, capturing a world title in 2015, securing a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, and becoming a two-time Africa Games champion along with a record five-time Africa champion.
Despite these accolades, Yego’s recent performances have not matched his peak form. He notably failed to reach the final of the World Athletics Championship in Budapest last year, being eliminated in the qualifiers. However, Yego has intensified his preparations in France and remains optimistic about delivering strong results once the games commence.
“For now, I am working on my throws and speed just to get it right and the distance will automatically come. My target is the qualification to the final, therefore, I am focusing on throwing 82m and getting the automatic qualification,” he added.
Unlike most athletes, Yego doesn’t have the luxury of training with a coach or a training partner but he says he is already used to it.
“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 this. 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 perform well in Paris,” He said.
Qualifying for the Paris Olympics has however not been a smooth ride and at some point, Yego disclosed that he lost hope of booking a ticket to Paris.
“It was tough qualifying for the Olympics, I had to wait until the last minute to see if I had qualified through the rankings. It has not been easy, this was the most difficult season for me, I started well in March, but I got injured at the Kip Keino Classic, although I managed to overcome the challenge and here I am qualified for the Olympics,”
The games will start on July 26.
