Julian Weber breaks championship javelin record with 90.40m throw

Julian Weber won the javelin title with a 90.40m throw, breaking Steve Backley’s championship record of 89.72m. The mark came with his sixth and final attempt and erased a record that had stood since 1998.

The German had led the competition from the opening round, but saved his biggest effort for the decisive moment. His winning distance was also the leading mark in Europe this year, giving him a clear victory and one of the standout performances of the championships.

Weber’s success also reversed the outcome of his previous meeting with Jakub Vadlejch at the championships in Rome two years ago. Weber had led that final through five rounds before Vadlejch took gold with an 88.65m last-round throw. This time, Weber produced the decisive final attempt, while the defending champion finished outside the medals.

Germany secured two places on the podium after 21-year-old Nick Thumm threw a personal best of 83.76m in the fifth round. It was Thumm’s first major championships appearance. Patriks Gailums of Latvia took bronze at 82.97m, narrowly ahead of Poland’s Dawid Wegner, who recorded a season’s best 82.96m for fourth.

Vadlejch, the Olympic silver medallist, managed 82.88m for fifth at the age of 35. Edis Matusevičius of Lithuania was sixth with 81.07m, followed by Poland’s Marcin Krukowski on 79.69m and Finland’s Topi Parviainen on 77.82m. Weber’s record throw therefore stood more than seven metres clear of the rest of the field.