As one of athletics’ true “nearly men,” Julian Weber could be forgiven for wondering if his golden moment would ever arrive. Now, with the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on the horizon, the giant German finally looks ready to step out of the shadows.
The javelin thrower has been the perennial nearly-man of major finals: fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, then again at the World Championships in Oregon 2022 and Budapest 2023.
On each occasion, his early throws thrust him into medal contention, only for rivals to snatch the podium places in the dying rounds. Add in sixth-place finishes at Doha 2019 and last year’s Paris Olympics, and Weber’s career has been defined by consistency - strong openers, but an elusive monster throw when it matters most.
Until this year.
90 metre breakthrough
At the Doha Diamond League, Weber tore up that script. Round by round he grew stronger, unleashing a lifetime best of 89.84m in the fifth before breaking into the sport’s elite territory in the sixth - a booming 91.06m, his first time beyond the 90 metre barrier and lifetime membership of javelin throwing's most exclusive club.
It wasn’t just personal history. It came moments after India’s world and former Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra had thrown 90.23m – also his first time over the magical mark - only for Weber to eclipse him in sensational style.
It was a statement victory. Weber was no longer the hunted, but the hunter.
Already a European gold medallist (Munich 2022) and silver medallist (Roma 2024), Weber was suddenly the world leader. And he lived up to it. In ten competitions leading into Tokyo, he claimed nine wins, his only defeat coming at the Paris Diamond League, edged by Chopra by a mere 28 centimetres.
A return to European glory?
Then came Zurich. At the Diamond League Final, Weber produced the performance of his life. He opened with a personal best of 91.37m, then immediately improved again to 91.51m. He didn’t need to do more - his winning margin was a staggering 6.50 metres over second-placed Chopra. It was domination, pure and simple.
Now, at 31, Weber heads into Tokyo in the form of his life: confident, seasoned, and armed with victories over his fiercest rivals. But with form comes expectation. After decades of European dominance in the men’s javelin, no European has won a global title since his compatriot Johannes Vetter at London 2017.
Since then, Grenada’s Anderson Peters (2019, 2022 world champion), Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem (2024 Olympic champion), and Chopra (2020 Olympic champion, 2023 world champion) himself have ruled the big stages.
Weber has carried the weight of disappointment before. This time, he carries the weight of destiny. Tokyo could finally be the stage where the nearly man becomes champion.