Neeraj Chopra Breaks 90m Barrier, Julian Weber Snatches Gold

It was raining missiles in the Qatari capital Friday night, as two of javelin’s biggest stars joined the ultra-exclusive 90-metre club at the Doha Diamond League 2025. India’s Neeraj Chopra finally cracked the magical mark with a national record of 90.23m, but it was Germany’s Julian Weber who walked away with the gold, unleashing a world-leading 91.06m in his final attempt.

Talk about a dramatic plot twist.

For years, fans waited for Chopra to breach the 90-metre milestone. And he delivered—in style. Launching into the competition with a scorching 88.44m, the reigning world champ lit up the Qatar Sports Club in round three, soaring past his previous best of 89.94m with a 90.23m rocket. That throw temporarily put him on top and officially inked his name as the 25th man in history to cross the coveted line.

But Weber had other plans.

After a slow start and a cautious opener of 83.82m, the 2022 European champion gradually built momentum. His final act? An absolute bomb of 91.06m, sending him into 17th place on the world all-time list and snatching victory at the buzzer.

"I don't know how that happened," Weber said post-event. "The previous weeks weren't that good for me, but today I just felt great… it came out really perfect."

Chopra, despite the historic feat, ended with a bittersweet second-place finish. “It is a little bit bittersweet result,” he admitted. “I am very happy for the 90m, but this second place… it actually happened to me also when I competed in Turku and in Stockholm. I threw 89.94 and I was always second.”

Friday night marked just the seventh time in javelin history that two athletes have gone over 90 metres in the same competition. Rounding out the podium was Grenada’s Anderson Peters, the two-time world champ, with 85.64m.

Weber praised the conditions in Doha, noting, “The backwind is great for us javelin throwers. If you make the right adjustments and throw a little higher, it just flies great.”

He also had nothing but admiration for Chopra’s achievement, saying, “I was really happy for Neeraj because he had been fighting for that 90-metre throw for some time and it was really special to achieve it tonight."

Chopra’s 90.23m also becomes the third-longest javelin throw ever by an Asian, behind Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem (92.97m) and Chinese Taipei’s Chao-Tsun Cheng (91.36m).