Three-time Olympic champion and WR holder Jan Zelezny becomes Neeraj Chopra's new coach

Two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra has announced the beginning of an exciting new chapter in his career. Neeraj on Saturday announced the appointment of great javelin thrower Jan Zelezny as his new coach.

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Jan Zelezny, a three-time Olympic and world champion and current world record holder, has long been Chopra's idol. Actually, Neeraj Chopra was working with German coach Klaus Bartonietz till now, but Klaus has recently retired from coaching.

Announcing the new coach, Neeraj said, “Growing up, I admired Jan’s technique and precision and spent a lot of time watching videos of him. He was the best in the sport for so many years, and I believe that 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, and I can’t wait to get started,” 

Chopra didn't breach 90m mark

Chopra, 26, won a historic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and silver at the Paris Olympics 2024, as well as two world championships medals, silver at the 2022 Eugene edition and gold at the 2023 Budapest. However, over the past few years, Chopra has expressed his desire to breach the 90m mark. His alliance with Bartonietz after Paris, where Chopra again failed to hit the 90m mark while Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won gold with an Olympic record 92.97m.

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Under Zelezny's guidance, Neeraj will try to take his success to a different level. On this occasion, Jan Zelezny said, “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. I like his story and I see big potential, as he is young and able to improve."

Zelezny broke WR on four occasions

Jan Zelezny, a gold medalist at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Olympic Games, has five of the top ten best throws of all time. In 1996, he set a world record in Germany with a throw of 98.48m. He broke the world record on four occasions.

When Chopra won gold at the Tokyo 2020, Zelezny was the coach of both other medalists Jakub Vadlejch (silver) and Vítězslav Veselý (bronze).. He has also coached two-time Olympic champion and three-time world champion Barbora Špotáková.