Neeraj Chopra’s Paris Olympics T-Shirt Inducted into World Athletics Heritage Collection
New Delhi, December 15: India’s javelin star Neeraj Chopra’s t-shirt, worn during the Paris 2024 Olympics, has been inducted into the prestigious World Athletics Heritage Collection.
The reigning World Champion and Paris 2024 Olympics silver medalist is one of 23 athletes whose competition artefacts were recently added to the World Athletics Heritage Collection. “Keeping our Olympic collection up to date, we are proud today to be announcing donations from a trio of Paris 2024 medallists: Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Thea LaFond, and Neeraj Chopra,” said World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, as quoted by Olympics.com.
Other Paris 2024 medallists who contributed to the unique collection include Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who donated her singlet, name bib, and shorts. Mahuchikh made history by breaking the world high jump record at the Paris Diamond League before claiming Olympic gold this year.
Dominica’s first Olympic medalist, Thea LaFond, also gifted the crop top she wore during her victorious triple jump final at the Paris 2024 Olympics. In total, 32 artefacts from 23 athletes representing 12 countries were added to the World Athletics Heritage Collection this week.
Neeraj Chopra has redefined the landscape of athletics in India and globally. He made history at the Tokyo Olympics by becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal in javelin throw. He followed up with a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a throw of 89.45 meters. Chopra narrowly missed defending his title after his arch-rival, Arshad Nadeem, produced an Olympic record throw of 92.97 meters.
Recently, Neeraj announced the beginning of an exciting new chapter in his career, partnering with javelin legend Jan Zelezny, who joined as his new coach. Zelezny, a three-time Olympic and World Champion and the current world record holder, has long been an idol for Chopra.
