Kenya’s javelin ace Julius Yego returned to winning ways on 16 August 2025, claiming victory at the Silesia Diamond League meet in Chorzów, Poland.
Yego produced a best throw of 83.60m, enough to secure first place against a competitive field and, more importantly, mark his first Diamond League win in nine years.
Since his last win in Eugene in 2016, Yego’s career has been defined by injury battles, fluctuating form, and questions about whether he could ever reclaim the heights that made him a World Champion.
The competition in Silesia featured several of Europe’s in-form throwers, many of them younger than the Kenyan veteran. Yet Yego, now 36, showed his trademark consistency and ability to deliver under pressure. His 83.60m throw was not close to the towering 90m-plus distances he once produced at his peak, but it was more than enough to edge out the field.
Yego’s long absence from the Diamond League winners’ circle was largely down to recurring groin and elbow injuries. After his breakthrough 2015 season, when he stunned the world with a throw of 92.72m to win the World Championships in Beijing, Yego struggled to maintain consistency.
At the Rio 2016 Olympics, he managed to claim silver despite injury concerns, but subsequent seasons saw him sidelined or finishing well off the podium. The disruption of the COVID-19 period added further obstacles, delaying his return to peak competition.
While he never walked away from the sport, Yego became a less frequent figure in major competitions, often exiting in the early rounds or finishing outside the podium positions.
Yego’s career has been a mix of record-breaking highs and frustrating lows. The 2015 season remains his crowning achievement, but it also set expectations at near-impossible levels. Every subsequent performance was measured against that 92m monster throw.
This persistence makes the Silesia win all the more meaningful. The win reopens doors for Yego. With major championships on the horizon, including the World Championships and the Olympic cycle edging closer, his form could not have returned at a better time.