Herman shatters Kip Keino Classic javelin record, Yego struggles

Belgium's Timothy Herman wowed fans at the Moi International Sports Centre (MISC), Kasarani down as he powered his way to victory in men’s javelin at the Kip Keino Classic in a meet record.

Herman, who was making his third appearance after finishing third both in 2020 and 2021, hauled his first throw of 87.35 metres for his personal best and world lead on Saturday.

Herman stunned two-time reigning world champion Anderson Peters from Grenade to second place in 85.72m as defending champion Ihab Abdelrahman El Sayed from Egypt in 81.04m settled for third place.

The 2015 world javelin champion Julius Yego from Kenya settled fifth with season’s best third throw of 77.24m.

Abdelrahman won last year’s event in a meet record throw of 83.71m.

“This is such a surprise to me…I didn't expect to win today with two world champions around,” said Herman, who went into the event with a career best 80.48m. “My target was to improve my personal best to 83m but throwing 87m is phenomenal and a great achievement.”

Herman said winning the Kip Keino for the first time gave him a good platform for the rest of the season.

“I’m looking forward to a good season and I have many throws to do before the World Championships,” explained Herman. “Nairobi is just great and getting the crowd cheering for you is just a good thing as a competitor.”

Despite his performance, Peters hailed the crowd for cheering him with every throw. “This is incredible because they kept me going,” said Peters. “The season has started and I believe there is more to work on before the World Championships.”

The World Athletics Championships are scheduled for August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.