Grenada's Anderson Peters and Trinidad and Tobago's Keshorn Walcott both advanced to the men's javelin throw finals at the Paris Olympics Games, following contrasting performances at the Stade de France on Tuesday.
While Peters registered a season’s best 88.63m on his first attempt in a one-and-done performance to qualify second from Group B, Walcott, who launched the instrument to 83.02m for sixth in Group A, was made to sweat before he was eventually confirmed as the 11th overall best thrower in the final 12 to contest the medal event.
The fact that Peters effortlessly exceeded the qualification standards to qualify second overall places him in line for a possible podium finish, provided he can replicate or better his qualifying performance. Only India's Neeraj Chopra, who threw a season’s best 89.34m, topped Peters.
Walcott, the 2012 Olympic gold medallist, would have welcomed his qualification based on his distance despite not meeting the automatic qualification standard of 84.00m and will no doubt be looking to improve significantly in the final.
The men's javelin throw final is scheduled for August 8.