Julius Yego

Julius Yego

Julius Yego in 2015
Personal information
Born	(1989-01-04) 4 January 1989 (age 28)
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	85 kg (187 lb)
Sport
Country	Kenya
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Javelin
Coached by	Petteri Piironen
Medal record Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro Javelin throw World Championships 2015 Beijing Javelin throw Commonwealth Games 2014 Glasgow Javelin Throw All-Africa Games 2011 Maputo Javelin throw African Championships 2012 Porto Novo Javelin throw 2014 Marrakech Javelin throw 2010 Nairobi Javelin throw
Updated on 26 August 2015.

Julius Yego (born 4 January 1989) is a Kenyan track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. Nicknamed "Mr. YouTube Man" because he learned how to throw by watching YouTube videos of javelin athletes, Yego is the African record and Commonwealth record holder for the event with a personal best of 92.72 metres. He won the javelin title at the All-Africa Games in 2011 and at the African Championships in Athletics in 2012 and 2014; at the 2013 World Championships he placed fourth, losing a medal in the final round. In 2014, he became the first Kenyan to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal in a field event. At the 2015 World Championships he won the gold medal with a throw of 92.72m, becoming the first Kenyan to win a World Championships gold medal in a field event. He won silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Yego was born in Cheptonon (Saba River) location in Tinderet, Nandi District. He attended high school at Kapsabet Boys High School.

Yego became interested in the javelin throw as a youth and he watched videos of athletes such as Jan Zelezny and Andreas Thorkildsen on YouTube to help with his technique and to learn how to train at a gym. He competed in the high school regional championships in 2003. In 2006 he won the national junior title and broke the Kenyan junior record with a throw of 67 metres. More renowned for distance runners, Yego quickly ascended to the top of the Kenyan scene. He won his first national title in the javelin at the age of nineteen in 2008 and defended it in both 2009 and 2010.