Czech legend Jan Zelezny comes on board as Neeraj Chopra’s coach ahead of 2025 season

Jan Zelezny, 58, is widely considered the greatest javelin thrower of the modern era and is a world and Olympic champion. He also holds the record in the event.

Just days after he penned a heartfelt note of thanks to long-time coach Klaus Bartonietz, Neeraj Chopra on Saturday (November 9, 2024) officially confirmed joining hands with Czech javelin legend Jan Železný as his new coach to train with.

Double Olympic medalist Chopra will be part of Železný’s training group, the Czech Athletics Federation has confirmed, with the two formally met during the annual year-ending training camp at Potchefstroom, South Africa later this year. Železný’s salary will be funded by the Sports Ministry. The association, however, will only be for the next two years starting 2025.

Železný, a three-time Olympic and World champion and the current world record holder, and Chopra share mutual admiration going back to his junior days. “Growing up, I admired Jan’s technique and precision and spent a lot of time watching his videos. He was the best for so many years and I believe working with him will be invaluable because our throwing styles are similar and his knowledge is unmatched. It’s an honour to have Jan by my side as I push towards the next level in my career,” Chopra said in a statement.

The Czech thrower coached the other two javelin medalists at Tokyo Olympics — Jakub Vadlejch and Vítězslav Veselý — and two-time Olympic and three-time World champion Barbora Špotáková. Vadlejch, who had been with Zelezny since 2010, however, has decided to leave the training group and work with Czech national coach Miroslav Guzdek instead.

“When arranging further cooperation, I informed my charges that my plan is to lead the top training group for two more years and not the entire Olympic cycle. We agreed with Jakub that he will not prepare for the next season in my group. We also came to this conclusion after we couldn’t find a consensus on the inclusion of Neeraj Chopra in our team,” Zelezny explained on the CAF website.

Chopra had approached him a few weeks ago and Zelezny welcomed the inclusion. “I have already spoken about Neeraj as a great talent many years ago. When I saw him early in his career, I realised great possibilities for top results. I also said that if I should start to coach somebody from outside Czechia, my first choice would be Neeraj. There have been many athletes contacting me for coaching so for me to take this up means that it is a great honour to have him in my team.

“I also saw a great benefit for the other members of my group, in which the best javelin throwers in the world would motivate each other and everyone would benefit from it. We are getting to know each other more closely and will start in person at a traditional winter camp in South Africa,” he added.

Železný, who won consecutive golds from 1992-2000 Olympics, has five of the top ten throws of all time and holds the current record of 98.48m.

Published - November 09, 2024 03:30 pm IST