Johannes Vetter (German: [joˈhanəs ˈfɛtɐ]; born 26 March 1993) is a German athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He won gold at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. His personal best of 97.76 m is the German record, and ranks him second on the overall list behind Jan Železný. Vetter currently trains under Boris Obergföll and is a member of LG Offenburg's track and field squad.[2] He was previously with SV Saar 05 Saarbrücken and Dresdner SC.[3]

Johannes Vetter
Vetter at the 2016 Bislett Games
Personal information
NationalityGerman
Born (1993-03-26) 26 March 1993 (age 31)
Dresden, Germany
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Weight103 kg (227 lb)[1]
Sport
CountryGermany
SportAthletics
EventJavelin throw
ClubLG Offenburg
Coached byBoris Obergföll
Achievements and titles
Personal bestsNR 97.76 m (2020)
Medal record
Representing  Germany
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 London Javelin throw
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Doha Javelin throw

Personal life

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Vetter was born and raised in Dresden.[4] His grandfather was born in Königshütte (now Chorzów) in 1941.[5] Upon receiving his Abitur, Vetter joined the Polizei Sachsen ("Saxony State Police") and has been a Sportsoldat ("Sport Soldier") since September 2014.[4] He has a tattoo of an Ancient Greek javelin thrower on his back.[4][6]

Career

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2011–2016

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In 2011, Vetter competed in the European Junior Championships. He made it through the qualifying round with a personal best 71.60 m throw.[7] He then finished 12th in the final with a throw of 65.87 m. Zigismunds Sirmais won the event with a throw of 81.53 m.[8]

In July 2015, Vetter took part in the European U23 Championships. He finished fourth, throwing the javelin 79.78 m. Kacper Oleszczuk won gold with a throw of 82.29 m. In August 2015, he competed in the IAAF World Championships. He finished seventh with a throw of 83.79 m. Julius Yego won the competition with a throw of 92.72 m.[9]

Vetter competed for Germany at the 2016 Summer Olympics, along with Julian Weber and eventual gold medalist Thomas Röhler.[10] Leading up to his maiden Olympics, Vetter unleashed the javelin with a personal best of 88.23 m to top the field and attain the Olympic entry standard (83.00 m) by a five-metre margin at the Kuortane Games in Finland.[11] Coming to the final with the second best throw at 85.96 m from the qualifying stage, Vetter opened the competition with an 85.32 m throw on his first attempt to seize an early lead, but Röhler, along with 2015 World Champion Julius Yego of Kenya and defending Olympic Champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago overtook him for the medal positions. Unable to improve his mark in the remaining attempts, Vetter finished in fourth place, outside the podium by just six centimetres.[12][13] Less than a month after his disappointment at the Olympics, Vetter finished first in a world-class field at the 2016 ISTAF Berlin, throwing a personal best of 89.57 m.[14]

2017–2020

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In July 2017, he won the German Championship with a throw of 89.35 m. This was his first victory in the German Championship (he finished fifth in 2014, second in 2015 and fourth in 2016).[15] Two days later, he recorded throws of 90.75 m, 91.06 m, 93.06 m and a personal best 94.44 m at the 2017 Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern. The 94.44 m throw was also a German record, besting Röhler's 93.90 m throw from May 2017.[16][17] In August 2017, he won gold at the World Championships in London with a throw of 89.89 m.[18] Vetter finished his season at the 2017 ISTAF Berlin, where he won gold with an 89.85 m throw, nearly four metres ahead of second place Röhler.[19] On 14 October 2017, he won the 2017 European Athlete of the Year trophy.[20]

In March 2018, he won gold at the European Throwing Cup, throwing 92.70 m, twelve metres ahead of second place.[21] In July, he won bronze at the 2018 German Athletics Championships, with a throw of 87.83 m.[22] In August, he competed in the 2018 European Athletics Championships. He won the qualifying round with an 87.39 m effort, then placed fifth in the final with a throw of 83.27 m. Röhler won gold with 89.47 m.[23]

 
Vetter at the ISTAF Berlin 2019

Vetter represented Team Europe at The Match Europe v USA in September 2019. He won gold with a throw of 90.03 m, his best performance since May 2018.[24] At the 2019 World Athletics Championships, Vetter had the best throw in the qualifying round, with 89.35 m. He then won bronze in the final, throwing 85.37 m.[25] On 6 September 2020, Vetter finished first at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial. He set a new personal best of 97.76 m, only 72 centimetres shy of Jan Železný's world record.[26] Vetter also threw 94.84 m during the competition, along with 89.95 m and 87.28 m. He said in an interview afterwards about the 97-metre throw: "It was really close to perfection. In an open field with a good backwind, I think that throw would have been 100 metres, but I'm really happy."[5]

2020 Tokyo Olympics

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Vetter entered the 2020 Olympic event as gold medal favourite. In qualification Group A, his highest throw was 85.64 m finishing behind Neeraj Chopra of India. He easily proceeded to the Olympic final, and his first throw was a disappointing 82.52 m, while he deliberately stepped out of the line in his next 2 throws which made his highest throw 82.52 m, and finishing 9th. He didn't proceed to the finals stage, as qualification group opponent Neeraj Chopra advanced to win gold, while Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic and Vitezslav Vesely of Czech Republic claiming silver and bronze respectively. After 2020 Olympic medal chance missed, Vetter said he was looking forward to Diamond League meets and upcoming World Championships and 2024 Olympics.[27]

Competition record

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing   Germany
2011 European Junior Championships Tallinn, Estonia 12th Javelin throw 65.87 m
2015 European U23 Championships Tallinn, Estonia 4th Javelin throw 79.78 m
World Championships Beijing, China 7th Javelin throw 83.79 m
2016 European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 16th (q) Javelin throw 79.98 m
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 4th Javelin throw 85.32 m
2017 World Championships London, England 1st Javelin throw 89.89 m
2018 European Throwing Cup Leiria, Portugal 1st Javelin throw 92.70 m CR
European Championships Berlin, Germany 5th Javelin throw 83.27 m
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 3rd Javelin throw 85.37 m
2020 World Athletics Continental Tour Chorzow, Poland 1st Javelin throw 97.76 m[28]
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 9th Javelin throw 82.52 m

Seasonal bests by year

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Year Performance Place Date
2010 51.77 metres Nabeul, Tunisia 10 April
2011 71.60 metres Tallinn, Estonia 21 July
2012 61.39 metres Dresden, Germany 10 June
2013 83.73 metres Schutterwald, Germany 5 August
2014 79.75 metres Haldensleben, Germany 21 June
2015 85.40 metres Jena, Germany 31 May
2016 89.57 metres Berlin, Germany 3 September
2017 94.44 metres Luzern, Switzerland 11 July
2018 92.70 metres Leiria, Portugal 11 March
2019 90.03 metres Minsk, Belarus 10 September
2020 97.76 metres Chorzow, Poland 6 September
2021 96.29 meters Chorzow, Poland 21 May[29]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Johannes Vetter". Rio2016.com. Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  2. ^ "Profile". Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  3. ^ "Johannes Vetter – der Shootingstar mit dem Speer" [Johannes Vetter – the rising star in the javelin]. Badische Zeitung. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Gulde, Georg (10 March 2016). "Speerwerfer-Talent Johannes Vetter: "Ich bin heiß auf Neues"". Badische Zeitung (in German).
  5. ^ a b Vetter joins Warholm, Duplantis and Crouser in race to break the next world record World Athletics
  6. ^ Für Gold schmiss der deutsche Held bei der Polizei hin
  7. ^ "Results of Tallinn European Junior Championships". Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  8. ^ EUROPEAN ATHLETICS U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS – TALLINN 2011
  9. ^ REPORT: MEN’S JAVELIN FINAL – IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, BEIJING 2015
  10. ^ "Harting and Schwanitz headline Germany's Olympic team for Rio". IAAF. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  11. ^ "Speerwerfer Vetter Nummer zwei der Welt hinter Röhler" [Javelin thrower Johannes Vetter ranked behind Röhler as number two in the world] (in German). Die Zeit. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  12. ^ "Athletics: Men's Javelin Throw Final". Rio2016.com. Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  13. ^ "Speerwurf Vetter fehlen sechs Zentimeter – Röhler holt Gold" [Javelin thrower Vetter missed out of medals by six centimetres, Röhler fetched gold] (in German). Südwestrundfunk. 21 August 2016. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Vetter takes victory in javelin as legends bid farewell in Berlin". IAAF. 3 September 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  15. ^ VETTER DEFEATS RÖHLER AT GERMAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, KLOSTERHALFEN AND KRAUSE IMPRESS
  16. ^ VETTER THROWS 94.44M IN LUCERNE, MOVING TO SECOND ON WORLD ALL-TIME JAVELIN LIST
  17. ^ Vetter wirft Speer auf Rekordweite
  18. ^ REPORT: MEN'S JAVELIN FINAL – IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS LONDON 2017
  19. ^ Vetter gewinnt, Hartings chancenlos
  20. ^ Johannes Vetter and Katerina Stefanidi win European Athletics awards
  21. ^ VETTER THROWS 92.70M AT EUROPEAN THROWING CUP IN LEIRIA IAAF
  22. ^ Bob Ramsak (22 July 2018). "Hofmann takes German javelin title". IAAF.
  23. ^ Javelin Throw Men European Athletic Association
  24. ^ Johannes Vetter krönt europäischen Sieg mit 90-Meter-Wurf German Athletics Association
  25. ^ Vetter wirft den Speer zu Bronze Der Spiegel
  26. ^ Johannes Vetter shocks with second best Javelin throw in history Olympic Channel
  27. ^ Fortune favours the brave: How Neeraj Chopra won Gold in Tokyo and more fancied Johannes Vetter missed out Archived 9 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine India Today.
  28. ^ "Johannes Vetter's 97.76 metres through the eyes of 100-plus phenom Uwe Hohn". The Indian Express. 8 September 2020.
  29. ^ "Vetter throws 96.29m in Silesia for third best javelin mark in history | REPORT | World Athletics".
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