Julius Yego facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Julius Yego

Yego in 2015
Personal information
Nickname(s)	Mr. YouTube
Born	(1989-01-04) January 4, 1989 (age 36) Cheptonon, Rift Valley Province, Kenya (today Nandi County)
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	85 kg (187 lb)
Sport
Country	Kenya
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Javelin throw
Coached by	Petteri Piironen
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	AR 92.72 m (2015)
Medal record Olympic Games Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro Javelin throw World Championships Gold 2015 Beijing Javelin throw Commonwealth Games Gold 2014 Glasgow Javelin throw Bronze 2022 Birmingham Javelin throw African Games Gold 2011 Maputo Javelin throw Gold 2019 Rabat Javelin throw Silver 2023 Accra Javelin throw African Championships Gold 2012 Porto Novo Javelin throw Gold 2014 Marrakech Javelin throw Gold 2018 Asaba Javelin throw Gold 2022 Port Louis Javelin throw Gold 2024 Douala Javelin throw Bronze 2010 Nairobi Javelin throw

Julius Yego is a famous Kenyan athlete. He was born on January 4, 1989. He competes in a sport called javelin throw. This is where athletes throw a long spear-like object as far as they can.

Julius Yego is often called "Mr. YouTube." He got this nickname because he learned how to throw the javelin by watching videos of other javelin throwers on YouTube. He holds the African record for the javelin throw. His best throw was an amazing 92.72 meters.

He has won many important competitions. He won gold medals at the All-Africa Games in 2011 and the African Championships in Athletics in 2012 and 2014. In 2014, he made history by becoming the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in a field event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. A field event is a sport like throwing or jumping, not running.

In 2015, he won a gold medal at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. His throw of 92.72 meters was a new record for Africa. He was also the first Kenyan to win a World Championships gold medal in a field event. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won a silver medal.

About Julius Yego

Julius Yego was born in a place called Cheptonon in Nandi District, Kenya. He went to high school at Kapsabet Boys High School.

How He Started Throwing Javelin

When Julius was young, he became very interested in the javelin throw. He didn't have a coach for this sport in Kenya. So, he used YouTube to learn! He watched videos of famous javelin throwers like Jan Železný and Andreas Thorkildsen. These videos helped him learn new techniques and how to train.

He started competing in high school in 2003. By 2006, he won the national junior title. He also broke the Kenyan junior record with a throw of 67 meters. Kenya is usually known for its long-distance runners. But Julius quickly became a top javelin thrower in his country. He won his first national javelin title in 2008. He kept winning it in 2009 and 2010.

His First Big Competitions

In 2010, Julius Yego was chosen to represent Kenya for the first time. He threw his personal best of 74.51 meters. This earned him a bronze medal at the 2010 African Championships in Athletics in Nairobi. He improved his throw to 75.44 meters at the Kenyan trials for the Commonwealth Games. He then went to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. He finished in seventh place there.

In 2011, he still didn't have a special javelin coach. But he won his fourth straight Kenyan title. Then, he went to the 2011 All-Africa Games. He became Kenya's first-ever champion in the javelin event. He threw a new Kenyan national record of 78.34 meters. This throw was better than the old record that had stood for 14 years.

Training and Olympic Dreams

Because of his success, the IAAF (the main group for track and field sports) gave Julius a special scholarship. This allowed him to train for six months with top javelin coaches in Europe. The goal was to help him get ready for the 2012 London Olympics.

He trained for two months in Finland. When he came back to Kenya in April 2012, he threw a new record of 79.95 meters. This throw was good enough to meet the Olympic standard. It meant he could become the first Kenyan to compete in javelin at the Olympics. He broke his own Kenyan record again in Finland in July 2012, throwing 81.12 meters.

At the London 2012 Olympics, he broke his national record again in the qualifying round. He threw 81.81 meters. This throw was good enough to get him into the final round, where he finished 12th.

World Championships and Commonwealth Games Success

At the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, Julius Yego placed fourth. He improved his Kenyan record by more than three meters, throwing 85.40 meters. He was the first Kenyan ever to reach a field event final at the World Championships. He was in a medal position until another athlete passed him on the very last throw.

In 2014, Julius won the javelin at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He beat the Olympic champion, Keshorn Walcott. Julius was the first Kenyan athlete to win a Commonwealth title in a field event. He won another gold medal later that summer at the African Championships. He threw 84.72 meters, beating a strong competitor from Egypt.

Breaking Records and Olympic Silver

Julius Yego continued to improve in 2015. He won the Ostrava Golden Spike competition in May with a new Kenyan record of 86.88 meters. In June, he threw 87.71 meters in Rome. A few days later, he won at the British Grand Prix in Birmingham. He threw an amazing 91.39 meters. This throw was a new African record. It was also the best throw in the world since 2006.

On August 26, 2015, Julius won the gold medal at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. His throw was 92.72 meters. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Julius won a silver medal. He threw 88.24 meters, even though he had an ankle injury and only threw once.

International Competition Record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing  Kenya
2010	African Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	3rd	74.51 m
	Commonwealth Games	New Delhi, India	7th	69.60 m
2011	All-Africa Games	Maputo, Mozambique	1st	78.34 m (NR)
2012	African Championships	Porto Novo, Benin	1st	76.68 m
	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	12th	77.15 m
2013	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	4th	85.40 m (NR)
2014	Commonwealth Games	Glasgow, United Kingdom	1st	83.87 m
	African Championships	Marrakech, Morocco	1st	84.72 m
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	1st	92.72 m (AR)
2016	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	2nd	88.24 m
2017	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	13th	76.29 m
2018	Commonwealth Games	Gold Coast, Australia	13th (q)	74.55 m
	African Championships	Asaba, Nigeria	1st	77.34 m
2019	African Games	Rabat, Morocco	1st	87.73 m
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	8th (q)	83.86 m1
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	24th (q)	77.34 m
2022	African Championships	Port Louis, Mauritius	1st	79.62 m
	World Championships	Eugene, United States	14th (q)	79.60 m
	Commonwealth Games	Birmingham, England	3rd	85.70 m
2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	17th (q)	78.42 m
2024	African Games	Accra, Ghana	2nd	81.74 m
	African Championships	Douala, Cameroon	1st	80.24 m
	Olympic Games	Paris, France	5th	87.72 m
2025	Neeraj Chopra Classic	Bengaluru, India	2nd	84.51m

¹No mark in the final

Seasonal Bests

• 2009 – 74.00
• 2010 – 75.44
• 2011 – 78.34
• 2012 – 81.81
• 2013 – 85.40
• 2014 – 84.72
• 2015 – 92.72
• 2016 – 88.24
• 2017 – 87.97
• 2018 – 80.91
• 2019 – 87.73
• 2021 - 77.34
• 2022 - 85.70

Personal Life

Julius Yego is married to Sincy Chemutai. They have two sons named Jarvis and Finn.

See also

In Spanish: Julius Yego para niños