Top 10 African Athletes in 2015 (Part 2)

                                             2) Julius Yego

He put Kenya on the world map, not for a long distance or any track event, but a field event: the Javelin throw. Reputed to have learnt how to use the spear by watching Javelin on Youtube, Yego gained more prominence this year when his throw at the Birmingham Diamond League (DL) went past the marked area to a ground swelling 91.39m, smashing the then African and DL records.

In fact he was initially not awarded the monster throw which was adjudged to have landed out of bounds. However he was duly credited after the officials made a resolution and the decision revised.

Yego is a Commonwealth and African champion, but didn’t break the 90m mark, winning both titles with 83.87m and 84.72 respectively. However, he became established as a true Javelin great this year.

It was at the World Championships in Beijing that Yego came of age, becoming the first Kenyan athlete to win GOLD in a field event. In his third attempt, he launched his spear aloft with great intent as he crashed on the tartan looking on to see how it had gone…. alas 92.72m, a monstrous throw that surpassed that of his opponents.

Remarkably, no throw in the world has gone farther than Yego’s in the last 14 years. Only Czech Republic’s Jan Železný (World Record holder with 98.48m) and Finland’s Aki Parviainen (93.09m) are ahead of him 0n the all-time list. His throw is the 8th best ever, and he ends the year as No.1 on the 2015 IAAF list.

It can be argued that it was Kenya’s ability to bridge the gap between Track and Field events helped them win the World Championships. With two African Records and a World title to his credit, surely Yego has to be the second best African athlete this year.