Pakistan has fallen in love with the javelin – after watching countryman Arshad Nadeem smash the Olympic title to smithereens yesterday.
The gentle giant from Lahore, who’s nearly 6ft 3′ and weighs in at almost 15 stone, won the hearts of his home nation – and beyond – when he made a monster throw of 92.97m in front of a full house in Stade de France to secure gold.
The monumental effort saw him become his country’s first medalist in 32 years and its first ever track and field gold medalist on a historic night for Pakistan.
The partying in Lahore went on for much of the night, with Nadeem’s mother fed sweets in celebration and young children dancing and chanting his name.
Nation’s pride: Arshad Nadeem poses with his new Olympic record on Thursday after wowing the Stade de France to take the gold medal in the javelin
The towering athlete, who’s nearly 6ft 3′ and weighs almost 15 stones, sparked a Pakistan party with his victory, which is the first Olympic gold in 32 years for the Middle Eastern country
Arshad Nadeem’s house is pictured as young villagers gather to celebrate in the Punjabi village of Mian Channu
The throw clinched a first Olympic gold for Pakistan since the men’s field hockey team at Los Angeles 1984; Nadeem was also the first ever track and field gold medallist on a historic night for Pakistan
Wearing the green of his country’s flag, Nadeem, 27, enjoyed a lap of honour and a chance to ring the Olympic bell at the Stade de France
Arshad Nadeem, from Pakistan, has smashed the Olympic record in the javelin with a monster throw of 92.97m
Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen had held the javelin record since the 2008 Games but his distance of 90.57m was comprehensively demolished by more than two metres under the lights in Paris.
When India‘s Neeraj Chopra won the gold in Tokyo three years ago, javelins sold out as a new generation took up the sport, and it’s likely Nadeem’s efforts will have the same effect.
However, his hard-won glory certainly didn’t look on the cards during his childhood, the athlete grew up in poverty in a Punjabi village, with his construction worker father, mother and seven siblings.
In India, javelin has enjoyed a huge uptake thanks to the success of silver medalist Neeraj Chopra, and it’s likely to have the same impact in Pakistan following Nadeem’s win this week (Pictured: Pakistanis watch Nadeem’s victory on a TV screen in the Khanewal District of Punjab province)
Family members offer sweets to Nadeem’s mother Razya Parveen (left) following his victory
In an article earlier this year, Al Jazeera reported that his family was so poor they would eat meat just once a year.
While Nadeem career has gone from strength to strength thanks to funding from the Pakistani Government in recent years, his early adventures with the javelin were largely funded by kind-hearted villagers, who would pay for his training, travel and kit.
Even now, his training regime still requires him to practice in Pakistan’s brutal heat, with no air conditioning in the Lahore gym he uses, and outside temperatures often over 45 degrees.
His coach, Salman Iqbal Butt, 66, told Al Jazeera that he avoids the hottest hours of the day – dividing his six hours-a-day training into morning and evening sessions.
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Yesterday’s glory wasn’t a given either; Nadeem had secured gold at the Commonwealth Games two years ago with a throw which cleared 90m but his form had cooled since that summer.
He’s also undergone more than one surgeries in recent years as his quest for Olympic gold was threatened by injury.
The 27-year-old claimed had the silver medal at the 2023 World Championships but went one better in Paris after a performance few in the Stade de France – or Pakistan – will ever forget.
But from the moment the javelin left his hand at 70mph, the attempt seemed an enormous one and the huge crowd at the Stade de France held its breath collectively as the projectile hung in the Paris air.
The throw, despite falling a few metres short of the world record, went down as the sixth longest of all time.
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