Neeraj Chopra finished second in the Lausanne Diamond League with a sensational last throw, which enabled him to record a season's best of 89.49m, 4cm longer than he threw at the Paris Olympics. It was the second best throw of his career, and another reminder of the frightening consistency of a man who has now not finished outside the top two at any event starting from his gold-medal winning effort at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
It was a night that, for large parts, served as a reminder of the discomfort that Neeraj has referenced recently, due to injuries which have limited his movement and impacted his technique. But, right at the end, he found the groove and the never-say-die spirit that is associated with champions. Unlike the Paris Olympics two weeks ago, where he registered only one legal throw, Neeraj registered marks with each of his six throws in the competition here, and nearly hit that magical 90m mark as well with his final one.
Neeraj was in danger of not even making the top three after the first four throws, not one of which went beyond 84m, which is unlike him. However, at the big moment, he pulled out a good throw, with an 85.58m effort which put him into the final round showdown against Peters and Weber. Peters, who went first in that final round, seemed to have snuffed out any threat from the other two with the biggest throw of the night straightaway - a superb 90.61m effort. Weber, who earlier threw 87.08m, didn't improve on it, and then Neeraj stepped up, and we saw a rare sight in recent times.
At Paris and early on here, he was admonishing himself after throws, not particularly liking what he doing. But after that last throw, the right arm went up, it was a sign that he was happy with it; and for good reason. It hit the floor 89.49m away, and gave him seven more Diamond League points to go with the seven that he had accumulated in Doha earlier this year.
It is now very likely that Neeraj will qualify for the Diamond League final in Brussels next month, as he aims to regain a trophy that he won in 2022.
It kept up one proud record too. Neeraj's last finish outside the top two at any competition was at the 2021 Kuortane Games, where he finished third with a throw of 86.79m. The consistency and the mental resilience that enables Neeraj to keep fighting at the top end of every big event was once again on show in Lausanne. The reaction after that final throw, despite it being his season's best, also showed the hunger - and what seems to have now turned into an obsession - to hit the 90m mark in the near future.
(Here's how the action unfolded.)