YEGO Julius

General
SUCCESSION PLAN
He is due to make his third Olympic appearance at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, and does not believe he will still be competing by the time the 2024 Games in Paris come around. "I am hoping for somebody to come along who will follow in my footsteps. After all these years I am still the only Kenyan to have thrown further than 80 metres. I have a training partner, but he hasn't achieved this distance yet. I wish the federation would provide us with more support, because javelin throwing competitions are still very rare in Kenya. We need fresh blood." (dw.com, 03 Apr 2020)

FURTHER EDUCATION
He has studied at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. (Facebook profile, 08 Jun 2020)

INTERNET INSTRUCTION
He watched videos on YouTube to help improve his technique early in his career, which earned him the nickname 'Mr YouTube Man'. "I did not have a coach, my motivation came from within as my father wanted me to give up the javelin and concentrate on running like all the other Kenyan athletes. Training without a coach was not an easy thing, but watching YouTube really paid off for me, to see the training techniques and skills that the athletes were using." (businessinsider.com, 26 Aug 2015; iaaf.org, 09 Jun 2015; nation.co.ke, 26 Aug 2015)

He became the first athlete to represent Kenya in javelin throw at the Olympic Games when he competed at the 2012 Games in London. He also competed at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he won silver in javelin and became the first Kenyan competitor to finish on the podium in a field event at the Olympic Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 07 Jul 2020; nbcolympics.com, 09 May 2012)

He became the first Kenyan athlete to win a medal in a field event at the world championships by claiming gold in javelin throw at the 2015 edition of the tournament in Beijing, People's Republic of China. (SportsDeskOnline, 07 Jul 2020; iaaf.org, 28 May 2016; nation.co.ke, 26 Aug 2015)