PARIS, France — Arshad Nadeem set an Olympic record in the men's javelin throw final to win a gold medal and become Pakistan's first Olympic champion in 40 years.
Nadeem's 92.97-meter throw in his second attempt broke the record and set the bar high early in the final. He beat silver medalist Neeraj Chopra by over three feet. Grenada's Anderson Peters won bronze.
The previous record was set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen with a distance of 90.57 meters. The world record is 98.48 meters, set by Jan Zelezny in May 1996.
Nadeem made his Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first Pakistani to qualify for the Olympics in track and field. He made it to the javelin throw final in Tokyo, finishing fifth. He won a silver medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Pakistan's last Olympic medal was won at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with a bronze in men's field hockey, 32 years to the day before Thursday. The last gold medal for Pakistan was won at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics by the men's field hockey team.
Pakistan sent just seven athletes to Paris, tied with 2016 for the fewest athletes sent by the nation to the Summer Olympics.
