Neeraj's Olympic gold listed among 10 magical moments at Tokyo Olympics

Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s historic gold-winning feat in the Olympics was listed as one of the 10 magical moments of track and field in the Tokyo Games by World Athletics (WA).

The 23-year-Chopra clinched the country’s maiden Olympic gold in athletics with a best throw of 87.58m on Saturday to become only the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold after Abhinav Bindra.

“Most keen followers of the sport had heard of Neeraj Chopra before the Olympic Games. But after winning the javelin in Tokyo, and in the process becoming India’s first athletics gold medalist in Olympic history, Chopra’s profile sky-rocketed,” the global governing body said on its website.

WA noted that the 23-year-old Chopra had 143,000 followers on Instagram before the Olympics, but now has a staggering 3.2 million followers, making him the most followed track and field athlete in the world.

Also read: From a farmer’s family, Neeraj’s inspirational rise to the top of the world

In a tweet posted after winning the gold in Tokyo, Chopra has said, “Still processing this feeling. To all of India and beyond, thank you so much for your support and blessings that have helped me reach this stage. This moment will live with me forever.”

Here is the complete list of WA’s 10 magical moments at the Olympics:

• “Can we have two golds?” Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi shared the gold medal for men’s high jump in Olympics after the scores were tied at 2.37m
• Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot gifted a bracelet to Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen after Ingebrigtsen won the gold medal and Cheruiyot won silver in men’s 1500m race
• After every jump, Australia’s Nicola McDermott scores various aspects of her jump out of 10 in her notepad. When she won a silver medal in women’s high jump, she gave herself a full 10 for her performance
• USA’s Ryan Crouser held up a note after winning the gold medal at men’s shot put event. The note was a tribute to his grandfather, who passed away just a week before the Olympics, and read “Grandpa, We did it. 2020 Olympic champion!”
• New Zealand’s shot put legend Valerie Adams held up the pictures of her children after winning a bronze medal at the women’s shot put
• Indian star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s gold win at the men’s javelin throw event
• Andre De Grasse, the 200m gold medalist, was greeted by partner, world’s 100m hurdles champion, Nia Ali, their two children, and other extended family members via video conferencing
• Canadian Damian Warner, who won the gold medal in Decathlon, explained how he was inspired by two world-record holders in decathlon, Kevin Mayer, who won the silver medal, and retired American athlete Ashton Eaton
• In the post titled ‘Appreciation behind the scenes’, WA thanked all the volunteers of Tokyo Olympics 2020. “Volunteers are the unsung heroes of any major event, but this was especially true at the Tokyo Olympic Games,” the post read.
• The reactions came from Jody and Bayo from the Backstraight Boys (& Girl) Podcast as they watched the men’s 4x100m final