Neeraj Chopra, India’s Olympic Gold and Silver medallist, will link up with triple Olympic champion from Czech Republic, Jan Zelezny, this winter, the Czech Athletics Federation (CAS) noted.
“That made me happy because I had already talked about him as a great talent many years ago, at the beginning of his career,” Zelezny observed on the CAS website. “I am starting cooperation with Chopra. We are getting to know each other at a distance, we will start in person only at the traditional winter camp in South Africa,” he added.
Back in 2017, Neeraj had also posted a photo on his social media handles, where he shared his views on meeting up with his idol: “Jan Zelezny, Javelin World Record holder, is my favorite thrower. It feels very good that I am meeting the same person from whom I learnt a lot by watching his videos.”
Zelezny won Olympic gold in Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000. He also won the silver medal in Seoul. He also holds the record for the biggest Javelin throw – 98.48 m. In the list of top 10 biggest throws, he has five of them. Meanwhile, Neeraj took home gold and silver medals, in Tokyo and Paris respectively. Neeraj’s best throw is 89.94 m, which he registered in June 2022.
With Neeraj joining CAS, Czech Republic’s veteran Javelin thrower Jakub Vadlejch has made the decision to quit the training camp.
(With inputs from agencies)