Pathirage edges Neeraj Chopra by nine centimetres to win Lausanne Diamond League javelin
Neeraj Chopra finished second and Rumesh Pathirage won the men's javelin at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on August 21, 2026, with Pathirage edging Chopra by nine centimetres. Chopra produced his best performance in more than a year with a second-round throw of 88.05m, while Pathirage took gold with 88.14m in the third round.
The nine-man, star-studded field included Grenada’s Anderson Peters, who took bronze with 86.69m, reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago in fourth on 83.71m, Curtis Thompson of the USA sixth on 78.13m, and Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic seventh on 77.32m. Chopra, 28, and Pathirage, 23, traded the lead in the contest as Pathirage continued his strong season form. Chopra’s 88.05m was his season’s best and his best since the 88.16m he threw to win the Paris Diamond League in June 2025.
Chopra opened with 83.54m before launching 88.05m in round two, added 83.72m in round three, recorded a No Mark in round four, skipped the fifth attempt and closed with 82.15m in the sixth. “I didn’t realise it was only nine centimetres, it was really close, but I’m happy with the 88-metre throw. To be honest, it didn’t feel like it went 88m because I felt very relaxed. I tried really hard and later focused on my technique,” he said. “With every competition, I feel that I’m coming back. The crowds in Lausanne and Zurich understand athletics and really support you, so it’s always good to compete here.”
Chopra briefly led after his second-round throw before Pathirage responded with the 88.14m third-round effort to take the lead. This was the third time in a row this year that Pathirage had beaten Chopra, having earlier prevailed in the Doha Diamond League and at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, where Pathirage won and Chopra finished fourth and second respectively. Pathirage’s season includes wins in Doha and Rome Diamond League meetings, Commonwealth gold in Glasgow with 89.75m, a season-leading 92.62m in Rome, and eight victories from nine competitions entered this season.
Chopra is on a comeback after recovering from a lower back injury that troubled him since September last year and delayed his return until the Diamond League in Doha; he was not fully fit in Glasgow but threw a season best of 85.83m there. “I can’t say my fitness is there like before. But I’m getting there slowly,” Chopra had said at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. The Lausanne result moved Chopra from seventh into the top five of the season-ending Diamond League Finals standings.
For jumps and throws the top six in the standings will compete at the Diamond League Finals in Brussels on September 4-5, with one additional athlete per discipline able to join via a national or global wildcard; Pathirage and Peters have already qualified after accumulating 23 and 22 points respectively. There is another Diamond League meet featuring the men’s javelin in Zurich on August 27, providing a final opportunity before the Finals.
Chopra’s Diamond League Finals record includes a title in 2022 and runner-up finishes in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and the Lausanne meeting saw late withdrawals from reigning world champion Arshad Nadeem and newly crowned European champion Julian Weber.