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Kenyan javelin star targets strong finish in final Commonwealth Games appearance
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Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 19.07.26. | 21:01
The 37-year-old won gold the last time he showed up at the host city for this year's event
Kenyan javelin legend Julius Yego is under no illusions on the level of opposition he will have to overcome, should he enjoy a fairytale finish to what he believes will be his last Commonwealth Games appearance later this month.
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Yego, 37, is among Kenya’s standout athletes who will feature at the forthcoming 2026 Commonwealth Games, scheduled for Thursday, 23 July to Sunday, 2 August in Glasgow, Scotland.
Having dominated the event for more than two decades, dating back to the year 2006 when he won the national junior title and broke the Kenyan junior record, Yego is with no doubts right in the sunset years of his career, a fact that has not been lost on him heading back into the venue that gave him his first international gold medal.
"I was in Glasgow in 2014, and I won, so I am going back to pick it up from there,” Yego told The Star during his final set of preparations at Kasarani Stadium. “I think everything is okay; training has been good, so I am excited.”
All through 2026, Yego has enjoyed a steady season, one that has seen him clinch continental gold at the African Athletics Championships in Ghana in May, and perhaps most importantly, remained healthy, a year after seeing his World Championships ended by a groin injury.
With a career-best throw of 92.72m, Yego, however, remains a long way behind that record, with his best showing this year being 82.22m at the Doha Diamond League.
That fact, gives him a slight shade of optimism that he can only get better, but also offers realism, that maybe there are others better than him currently.
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"I feel there is a throw that hasn't come this season, but maybe at the Commonwealth Games,” Yego said. “However, the top five in the men's javelin this year are from the Commonwealth countries, and that shows the level of competition has gone up.
“We have the new kid on the block, [Rumesh] Pathirage , the world number one. We also have [Neeraj] Chopra, Keshorn [Walcott] and [Anderson] Peters."
On his expectations on what will be his fifth Commonwealth Games, the former World Champion said: “I will try to win the competition because I have won it before. The minimum distance is 90m, so that shows the level of competition is high. I have to be up to the task, because this is a mini Olympics in the men's javelin.”