Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem has opted out of the Lausanne Diamond League on August 21, choosing an overseas training stint in South Africa as he looks to recover from a disappointing Commonwealth Games campaign, according to a report by Geo.
Nadeem, who was initially included in the entry list for the Lausanne meeting, is currently training at Punjab Stadium in Lahore and is expected to travel to Potchefstroom for a two-week camp once he receives his visa.
The decision comes less than two weeks after Nadeem endured one of the poorest major-event performances of his career. The 29-year-old entered the Glasgow Commonwealth Games as the defending champion and one of the biggest names in the men’s javelin throw. Instead, he finished ninth in the final with a best effort of just 77.41m.
That result was particularly underwhelming given Nadeem’s pedigree. At the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, he won gold with a Games record of 90.18m. Two years later, he produced the biggest throw of his career at the Paris Olympics, launching the javelin 92.97m to win gold and set an Olympic record.
NADEEM STRUGGLES IN GLASGOW
Nadeem’s struggles were evident even before the final. He qualified with a best throw of 78.63m, his season-best mark at the time, but finished seventh in qualifying. He could not improve in the final, managing only 77.41m and failing to make the top eight after the opening three rounds.
Nadeem subsequently blamed Glasgow’s cold conditions for affecting his performance, saying the weather made his body stiff and disrupted the rhythm of his run-up.
“The weather in Europe was extremely cold, which stiffened my body and I was unable to run properly,” Nadeem said.
“The run-up in javelin throw is the main thing, and I could not execute it during the event. You may have seen in many of my previous competitions that my run-up is usually very smooth, but this time it wasn’t because my body had become stiff due to the cold conditions. My fitness was good and my health was fine, but ultimately whatever Allah wills is what happens.”
Rather than immediately returning to competition in Lausanne, Nadeem will now use the coming weeks to train in South Africa. Potchefstroom is familiar territory for the Olympic champion, who has previously completed training stints there.
The focus will then shift to the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, followed by the Asian Games. After a difficult outing in Glasgow, Nadeem’s decision to prioritise training over another Diamond League appearance is aimed at rebuilding his form ahead of the season’s next major assignments.
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