A little bit of everything: “So many things have to come together in the short moment before the drop,” says Weber. Image: dpa
Of the many German world-class javelin throwers, only Julian Weber starts at the World Championships in Athletics, which from a German perspective is absolutely disappointing. But it’s not just the distance that counts for him.
Just a few years ago, the javelin throwers from Germany were something of a superpower: Olympic champion Thomas Röhler and world champion Johannes Vetter had to answer questions about world records and throwing a hundred meters. They were pressed and challenged by an armada of talents led by Julian Weber, Andreas Hofmann and Bernhard Seifert. Well, at the World Championships in Budapest on Sunday, only one participant from Germany will compete in the javelin throw: Julian Weber, 28 years old.
He starts for USC Mainz, lives in Berlin and trains in Potsdam with Burkhard Looks. Weber not only has to carry the burden of being the favorite out of tradition; he did a lot for it. This summer he became German champion for the third time. The victory distance of 88.72 meters shows that he did not owe the title solely to the injuries and weaknesses of the former champions.
