“I think this is really a checkmate for everyone. Because 93 meters of us was the maximum Peters had there, but he had it in the hurricane in Doha. So it was a fight for second place from then on,” noted Vadlejch.
And while three years ago in Tokyo he took second place with a performance of 86.67 ahead of compatriot Vítězslav Veselý, who then threw 85.44, this time not even a throw far beyond 88 meters was enough for him. “Great performance, worse ranking. Of course, I wanted a medal, but I had no idea that there wouldn’t be a medal for 88.50,” Vadlejch shook his head.
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Vadlejch: Great performance, worse ranking. It will be very sad
Video availability ends: 08/11/2024 21:58
He was only fifteen centimeters behind the golden performance from the June European Championship in Rome. He defended his position as the best European, but two-time world champion Anderson Peters from Grenada took the Olympic bronze by four centimeters. “That could easily be a measurement error,” Vadlejch pointed out, pointing out that the tip of the spear can be stuck at a different angle. “It’s a subtle difference, but sometimes it makes a difference,” he added.
He tried to react to Peters’ throw, but he couldn’t. For the first time at a top event, such as the World and European Championships or the Olympics, he ended up in the potato position. It is already the fifth fourth place for the Czech team at these Olympic Games. The medal balance remains three days before the end of the Games for the gold of the mixed tennis doubles of Kateřina Siniaková, Tomáš Macháč and the bronze of the corduroy team.
“I’m glad that I was part of such a race, but of course I’m sorry for the Czech fans, to whom I wanted to bring the medal from the queen of sports, from what I think is the most beautiful sport. But next time I’ll fight for it again, I’m sure this won’t break,” said Vadlejch.
According to him, the new Olympic champion Nadím has a special technique. “He jumps the throw and then simply, when he hits it, the javelin goes on such a cushion and doesn’t want to fall,” Vadlejch described. He has only a few direct fights with his Pakistani opponent. For example, since last year’s World Championship, Nadím has only competed in Paris, first at the Diamond League meeting and then at the Olympics. “I think it’s historically unique, this approach. No one knows why he does it. He probably does it well. He’s an Olympic champion, that’s probably not much more to say,” added the 33-year-old Czech representative.
