The remarkable Julius Yego of Kenya

When you think of athletics and Kenya, the first thing that springs to mind is of course running. From 800m to the Marathon, Kenyan athletes are very much to the fore.

One of the most famous up and coming stars in the world of athletics is Julius Yego of Kenya. In an country full of runners, his chosen specialty is the javelin.

Having decided at the ago of 13 that he was never going to make it as a runner, he started off with a wooden javelin. With no-one locally to coach him properly in the sport, he took to watching video clips on Youtube to improve his technique.

By 2006, he had set a Kenyan junior record. By 2010, he won a bronze at the African championships. After getting a sports scholarship to train with some of the best javelin throwers in Finland, he qualified for the London Olympics in 2012 where he finished 12th. At the World Championships in Moscow in 2013, he set a new Kenyan national record to finish an impressive 4th. Finally in 2014, he won Gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. A remarkable journey for someone who started out watching clips on Youtube.

There is a full article on Julius Yego on the IAAF website.

Video clip in this earlier post from 2012.