The 19-year-old German phenom Max Dehning will battle against superstar Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on June 18 at the prestigious Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland.
The latest member of the 90-meter club, Max Dehning of Germany, who is 19 years old, will compete against superstar Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra at the prestigious Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland on June 18, according to the organizers. With a throw of 89.30 meters, his career second-best, in the 2022 Paavo Nurmi Games, the 26-year-old Chopra earned a silver medal. He withdrew from the competition in 2023 while recuperating from an injury. The Doha Diamond League Meeting is where the 26-year-old Chopra will open his season on May 10. The personal best for Chopra is 89.94 meters.
In honor of the renowned Finnish middle and long distance runner, the Paavo Nurmi Games are named. One of the most prominent one-day contests outside of the Diamond League Meeting series, it is a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold level event.
“In June, Olympic javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will make a return visit to Turku. After a year off, Chopra will compete in the Paavo Nurmi Games where he will face up against a formidable field of opponents. On the official event website, Arttu Salonen, who oversees athlete procurement at Paavo Nurmi Games, stated that the competition will take place in Turku on June 18.
“We already have a contract with German Julian Weber and spring’s surprise Max Dehning in addition to Chopra.
“The objective is to host the most difficult javelin competition of the summer in Turku before to the Olympics in Paris. Talks with other parties are still ongoing. Naturally, Oliver Helander—who took home the gold in the 2022 edition with 89.83—should be the leading domestic artist to cover Turku. At the German Winter Throwing Championships in Halle in February, youngster Dehning became the youngest javelin thrower to break the coveted 90-meter mark with a throw of 90.20 meters, more than 11.07 meters over his previous best of 79.13 meters. On March 10, he did, however, manage a throw of 80.30 meters at the European Throwing Cup in Leiria, Portugal.
The current European champion, Julian Weber, threw a distance of 88.72 meters in the previous season. In the 2023 Budapest World Championship and the Tokyo Olympics, he had placed fourth each time. 89.54 meters is his personal best.
Chopra’s coach Klaus Bartonietz was mentioned on the Paavo Nurmi Games website as stating that the Indian javelin superstar “threw 90.40 in training a year ago in spring in Turkey at the camp in Belek”.
“Chopra’s personal best throw of 89.94 meters in Stockholm may have already been broken by 90 meters. In Stockholm, Chopra threw from behind the line by 20 to 30 cm, for a throw that was 90 meters.
It’s just a matter of time till we reach 90 meters. The Paavo Nurmi Games website quotes Bartonietz as saying, “But we say that it’s just a number,” during the World Javelin Conference at the Kuortane Olympic Training Center in November of last year.
