African and Commonwealth Games javelin record holder Julius Yego has set his sight on posting a stellar performance at the 21st CAA African Senior Athletics Championships that will take place at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, Nigeria from August 1-5, 2018.
A series of niggling injuries saw the 29-year old miss out on winning gold in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, a hoodoo that followed him to this year’s Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia where he finished 13th.
“I’ve been having issues with my injury but I think it is getting away. I have really worked hard with the physiotherapist and I feel good because I don’t have any issue now,” a buoyant Yego said ‘Hopefully, it will get away now since it’s been almost a year that I have struggled with it but am positive all will be well.”
Having performed dismally in recent championships, “The You Tube Man”, as he is known amongst his fan base is keen to use the Asaba Championship to rediscover his world-conquering form that saw him make the third longest throw in the javelin history in the 2015 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championship in Beijing China.
He followed that with a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics despite retiring after only one throw because of a groin injury. At the same time, Yego has blamed the absence of his coach during the games as another reason for his dwindling fortunes.
“My focus now is on Asaba and then the continental championships,” he asserted. “I did not go with my couch when we went for the Commonwealth Games early this year and the same has happened. Honestly, I’m not aware of what is going on. You know sometimes it sounds ridiculous when you train with your coach from Monday to Friday only for them to disappear during the games. I always wonder what is happening. But I don’t because I’m not the one to make such decisions. But it’s okay. I will there and try my best and try to do what my coach has taught me.”
In the 2015 Beijing World Athletics Championships, Julius Yego made history when he won Kenya’s first field event medal – a gold, no less. So when he paraded for 2017’s World Championships in London, a similar show was expected of the champion. But in the end, it was a disappointing finish for the bulky Kenyan javelin star. Yego’s hopes of defending his javelin title were shattered when he managed just 76.29 metres. German Johannes Vetter won the title as the 28-year-old Kenyan finished 13th, way below his season best of 87.97 achieved during the national trials in June. Yego attributed his bad show to a groin injury he sustained in the warm-up area.
“Disappointing to get a recurrence of groin partial tear again, same as it was in Rio, in the warm-up area. But it’s sport (and) things do happen not the way we want (sic). Sorry for my fans will get well soon,” Yego posted on his Facebook page.
In 2016’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Vetter shed tears of frustration as he missed out on the bronze medal by 6cm to finish in fourth place. Twelve months on, on the penultimate night of action at the IAAF World Championships, the 26-year-old German cried tears of joy as he stepped up to gold medal status.
In doing so, courtesy of a first round throw of 89.89m, Vetter – who followed up with throws of 89.78m, 87.22m, a fifth round foul and 82.25m – maintained the trend of fourth-place throwers graduating to gold at the next global championships. This time, it was Thomas Rohler, Vetter’s German teammate and rival, who took fourth place.
With adequate preparations, Yego is adamant that he will turn a page from his recent travails and return to winning ways. The 2018 CAA Africa Senior Championships will officially kick off on Wednesday, August 1,2018 with the opening ceremony, and will culminate on Sunday, 5 August.