Julius Yego on CWG gold, javelin’s rise and friendship with Neeraj Chopra

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There was no electricity in his village and no tarred roads, but Cheptonon had a champion athlete. “Even now, in some areas of my village there is no electricity. But we do not have a water problem because there are streams. Rich people have tap water, but others drink stream water because they believe it is clean,” 37-year-old Yego said. The roads are still basic. “There are small roads but not tarmac roads. I moved to Eldoret for my training, but I still go back to my village,” Yego said.

Yego’s stardom continued to grow in Kenya, the East African nation known for its distance runners, when he won a World Championship gold in Beijing a year later. He was the first from Kenya to become a world champion in a field event. A hip-hop musician, Khaligraph Jones, made a song titled ‘Yego’ to celebrate his achievements. Like Yego, the song is still popular.

“I am a big football fan, and I support Arsenal. Sometimes, when I go to social places, people see me, and they play the song and have fun. I like it because it reminds me of what I have achieved,” he said.

Even before social media became a thing, a young Yego, without a coach, was on YouTube learning how to throw the javelin. When he travelled outside Kenya for the first time — for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi — he didn’t have a coach, but he had YouTube to fall back on. Once he became famous, the moniker Mr. YouTube stayed.

“It is used (YouTube) more now. Maybe, in the beginning it was to know what you have to do, but now you can watch and correct yourself as well. I get lots of questions from India, I do respond and give comments when I have time on Instagram.”

(From left) Julius Yego, Neeraj Chopra and Rumesh Tharanga on the podium at the NC Classic (Photo credit: JSW Sports)

The father of three, two sons and a daughter who just turned one, Yego wants to keep going till the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. As much as aiming for another podium finish, he also wants to do his bit towards more athletes taking up sports. “I think, at the moment, I’m looking to motivate more athletes in Kenya to pick up the sports, not just javelin. I can see this happening in my time, when I am still active. This will also motivate me to make it to LA.”

Yego has been around long enough to see the change in the sport, from European dominance on the podium to medals being spread out across the globe. “That’s what I like about this sport. It is no longer set in one place. When I was starting the sport, it was being won by athletes from Europe. At the moment, every part of the world is being represented in javelin. Athletes come saying, ‘we can do it’. Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad and Tobago) won in 2012 (Olympics), but nobody expected it. I won in 2015 (World Championships). Anderson Peters from Grenada won. Neeraj (Chopra) has won. It shows the sport has changed and it has gone global. We changed the thinking of the sport, ‘yes, everybody can win.'”

The competition at the Commonwealth Games will be tough with Chopra, Olympic Champion Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan, Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage and Yego in the fray, but the Kenyan says the camaraderie in javelin is strong.

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“Yes, Neeraj is a good friend. I have a good relationship with him. We try to make our sport friendly. If you don’t win, then your friend will win, then you clap for him. And when I win, they clap for me. When your friend is down, you cheer him up. Put a smile on your face. We talk normally when we are in the competition, maybe correct each other, like say ‘maybe do this’. You compete of course, but after the competition the friendship remains.”

Yego hopes to leave Glasgow, his Commonwealth swansong, with a medal. “I won’t be competing in India (in 2030). If I win this championship, I will be so happy. I will say bye-bye Commonwealth Games and I will see you next time in some other capacity. It has been fun and amazing to compete at the Commonwealth Games.”

Working as an inspector of police in the Directorate of Criminal Investigation, Yego is also an anti-doping crusader. Like India, Kenya too has a doping problem, and Yego wants to help to clean up the mess. “I posted a video a few days ago saying it is a historic moment (fifth CWG) for me to be at the Games and in Glasgow again. My message was to compete clean, respect your opponent, and it is ok to lose if you compete fairly.”

The elder statesman of javelin wants to make a mark on the field in Glasgow and make a difference off the field.