Paris 2024: Arshad Nadeem Sets An Olympic Record To Win Pakistan’s First-Ever Olympic Gold
Arshad Nadeem gave Pakistan its first Olympic gold medal in 32 years, setting a new Games record with an attempt of 92.97 metres in the men’s javelin throw final.
In the men’s javelin throw final, Arshad Nadeem set a new Games record with an attempt of 92.97 meters, giving Pakistan its first gold medal at the Olympics in thirty-two years. Before Arshad’s incredible triumph in Paris, Pakistan had never taken home an Olympic gold medal for an individual. Only three gold medals had Pakistan previously won, all in field hockey, where their squad took first place in 1960, 1968, and 1984. Arshad accomplished an incredible performance considering that, in contrast to his opponents, he had difficulty affording a new javelin for training.
After securing his country’s first gold medal since Barcelona 1992, an emotional Arshad, wrapped around a Pakistan flag, hugged his coach, who embraced and congratulated the 27-year-old. A video of the same went viral on social media.
Nadeem, the 2022 Commonwealth champion who was fifth at the Tokyo Olympics and a silver medallist at last year’s Budapest world championships, said the result was “very important for Pakistan because I have worked very hard over the years for this”.
“My training and hard work have paid off. Like cricket, the javelin rivalry was present! People back home in Pakistan and India were eager to see us compete together,” Nadeem said on his rivalry with Tokyo gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, who had to settle for a silver in Paris.