Neeraj Chopra finishes second in Diamond League Finals, Weber wins maiden trophy

Zurich: Two-time Olympic medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finished runner-up in the Diamond League Finals for the third time in a row as Julian Weber of Germany lifted his maiden trophy with two 90m-plus throws in a commanding show here on Thursday.

Chopra was lying third till the fifth round following his opening throw of 84.35m before his final effort of 85.01m took him to the second spot, overtaking 2012 London Olympics gold winner Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago who ended third with 84.95m.

Weber achieved a season world leading throw of 91.57m, his personal best, in his second attempt. He began with 91.37m effort, and after that it was a one-man show in the seven-man field.

None of Weber's rivals could even come near his mark, as his best effort of the day was over 6m more than that of Chopra. The German had a foul, 83.66m, 86.45m and 88.66m after his second throw.

Clearly, Chopra was not at his best in the season's Diamond League grand finale. He had three legal throws out of the six attempts.

Known for his consistency in producing 88m-plus throws, it was a rare instance of the 27-year-old star Indian star just being able to touch the 85m mark.

He was hoping to regain the trophy he had won in 2022, but ended up finishing second for the third time after 2023 and 2024.

Defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada was fourth with 82.06m.

Chopra was not his usual self as he began with 84.35m and then followed it up with 82m and a foul.

He was at third spot at the halfway stage, and he fouled his fourth and fifth attempts before coming up with a 85.01m effort in his last throw.

Weber's effort was also his third 90m-plus throw of the season as well as his career. He had breached the coveted 90m mark with a 91.06m throw while winning the Doha DL title on May 16.

Chopra also breached the 90m mark for the first time in Doha with a throw of 90.23m but finished second behind Weber.

Chopra will now head to Tokyo for next month's World Championships as the defending champion.