Olympics 2016: Thomas Röhler wins gold in men’s javelin throw

The medals have been decided in the men’s javelin throw at the 2016 Olympics, and gold went to Thomas Röhler of Germany with a throw of 90.30 meters. That came just 0.27 short of the Olympic record, set eight years ago in Beijing. The 24-year-old is competing in his first Olympics and he certainly made the most of it.

Julius Yego of Kenya earned the silver a throw of 88.24 meters. It’s the first medal Kenya has ever won in the javelin, for either men or women. Yego made the finals in London as well and finished last among the field of 12, but he improved on that by winning the 2015 World Championships. The 27-year-old now has an Olympic medal to add to his growing collection of hardware.

Finally, the bronze went to Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago with a throw of 85.38 meters. Walcott won the gold four years ago in London and actually improved on his distance this time around in Rio, but the rest of the field improved even more. Like with Yego, the 23-year-old is the only athlete from his country ever to medal in this event -- much less to win, or medal multiple times.

Americans Cyrus Hostetler, Sam Crouser and Sean Furey all failed to qualify for the finals of the event this year. Only the top 12 advanced, and those three finished in 20th, 34th and 35th out of 36 competitors. It was a poor showing, and Team USA will have to go back to the drawing board. The US hasn’t medaled in the men’s event since Bill Schmidt earned bronze in 1972, and they haven’t won since Cy Young (unrelated to the baseball pitcher) in 1952.