Arshad Nadeem (Punjabi and Urdu: ارشد ندیم; born 2 January 1997) is a Pakistani javelin thrower. He is the reigning Olympic champion in Men’s javelin throw with an Olympic record throw of 92.97 meters at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
He is a two time Olympian, and the first Pakistani to qualify for the final of any track and field event at the Olympic Games, and the World Athletics Championships.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, he created a new national and Commonwealth Games record with a throw of 90.18m and became the first ever athlete from South Asia to breach the 90m mark.
In 2023, he became the first ever Pakistani athlete to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships, by winning a silver medal. He represents WAPDA in the domestic competition. In the 2024 Olympics he won the gold medal and set a new Olympic record.
Arshad Nadeem at the 2024 Olympics
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| Full name | Arshad Nadeem | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2 January 1997 Mian Channu, Punjab, Pakistan |
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| Employer | WAPDA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 95 kg (209 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Javelin throw | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Salman Iqbal Butt (Pak) Terseus Liebenberg (RSA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest world ranking | 1 (achieved on 08 August 2024) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | NR OR 92.97 m (2024) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Early life
Arshad Nadeem was born into a Punjabi family in Mian Channu, Punjab, Pakistan.He is the third-oldest among eight siblings. Arshad was an exceptionally versatile athlete from his early school years.
Though he dabbled in all the sports on offer in his school — cricket, badminton, football and athletics — his passion was cricket and he soon found himself playing it at district-level tape-ball tournaments.
Upon entering grade seven in school, Arshad caught the eye of Rasheed Ahmad Saqi during an athletics competition. Saqi had a history of developing sportspeople in the division, and took Arshad under his wing soon afterwards.
Before settling on javelin throw, Arshad also pursued shot put and discus throw.
Gold medals in javelin throw in successive Punjab Youth Festivals and an inter-board meet propelled him on to the national stage, bringing offers from all the leading domestic athletics teams, including Army, Air Force and WAPDA.
It was his father Muhammad Ashraf who persuaded him to take up the sport of javelin throw.
Career
Early years (2015–2019)
Arshad Nadeem at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati.
Arshad Nadeem started competing in javelin throw events in 2015. In 2016, he received a scholarship from World Athletics which made him eligible to train at the IAAF High Performance Training Centre in Mauritius.
In February 2016, Nadeem won the bronze medal at the South Asian Games in Guwahati, India. He set a national record and his personal best of 78.33 meters in the athletics event.
In June 2016, Nadeem won the bronze medal at the 17th Asian Junior Athletics Championship held in Ho Chi Minh.
In May 2017, Nadeem won a bronze medal with a best throw of 76.33 meters at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku.
In April 2018, he set a new personal best of 80.45 meters in the qualification round of the javelin throw event and finished eight at the Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia.
He also sustained a back injury following the end of 2018 Commonwealth Games. In August 2018, he won a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he set a new personal best and national record of 80.75m.
As the only Pakistani athlete at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, Nadeem achieved a new personal best and national record of 81.52m.
In November 2019, Nadeem set a national record when he recorded an 83.65 meter throw to win gold for WAPDA at the 33rd National Games in Peshawar.
In December 2019, he won a gold medal with an 86.29 meter games record throw at the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal.
2021
2020 Olympics
Nadeem made his debut appearance at the Olympics representing Pakistan at the 2020 Summer Olympics, which were held in 2021. In doing so, he became the first ever Pakistani track and field athlete to qualify for the Olympics.
His father stated that Nadeem was not even provided with a good training ground facility prior to competing at the Olympics.
Nadeem underwent training in his own house’s courtyard and streets and is believed to have not received any financial assistance from the Government of Pakistan after qualifying to participate at the Tokyo Olympics.
On 4 August 2021, he qualified for the men’s javelin throw event final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He became the first Pakistani to qualify for the final of any track and field event in the history of Olympics.
He finished fifth in the men’s javelin throw event with a throw of 84.62 m.
2022
World Athletics Championships
From March 2022 until the start of the world championships, Nadeem underwent training in South Africa under the supervision of the world athletic coach Terseus Liebenberg.The training was arranged by the Athletics Federation of Pakistan.
In July 2022, Nadeem participated in the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA, as the sole representative from Pakistan. He finished 5th in the final with a throw of 86.16m.
Commonwealth Games
On 7 August 2022, he won a gold medal for Pakistan at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Despite carrying an injury, Nadeem made a games record with his throw of 90.18m on his fifth attempt, surpassing World Champions Anderson Peters’ attempt of 88.64 in the competition, meanwhile also becoming the first South Asian to cross the 90m mark.
This was Pakistan’s first athletics gold medal at the Commonwealth Games since 1962.
Islamic Games
Five days later on 12 August 2022, he won another gold medal for Pakistan at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games. He made a games record with his throw of 88.55m.
In November 2022, Nadeem won the gold medal in the javelin throw event with a throw of 81.21 meters at the 50th National Athletics Championship in Lahore.
Treatment for injury
Nadeem left for the UK on 1 December 2022 to get treatment on his injured elbow and knee joint. The Athletics Federation of Pakistan arranged for him to be treated at the Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital.
After a ten-day rehabilitation and physiotherapy period, full recovery was to take a further four to six weeks.
2023
National Games of Pakistan and knee injury
Arshad Nadeem participated in the National Games of Pakistan and won a gold medal in the javelin throw event. However, he picked up a knee injury, which ruled him out of the Asian Athletics Championships.
Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP)’s president Akram Sahi blamed WAPDA for forcing Nadeem to participate in the National Games.
World Athletics Championships
Nadeem won a silver medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest with a throw of 87.82m. This was Pakistan’s first ever medal at the World Athletics Championships.
He also secured qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics during the event, eventually winning it with an Olympic record.
2024
In July 2024, Nadeem finished at the fourth place in the Paris Diamond League with a 84.21 meter throw on his fifth attempt.
At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Nadeem made history by becoming the first Pakistani to win an individual Olympic gold medal, claiming the men’s javelin.
He set a new Olympic record of 92.97 meters. The previous Olympic record holder was Norwegian Andreas Thorkildsen, who achieved 90.57 meters at Beijing Olympics.His throw stood as the sixth longest throw ever.
Personal life
Arshad Nadeem is married with two children, a daughter and a son. He is a devout Muslim. He describes himself as an introvert, someone who does not have many friends and keeps to himself.
His coach, Salman Iqbal Butt, a former national-level discus thrower, recounted him as a very respectful and obedient athlete who bows his head as he hears his coach’s words. “He is Zen-like. He is quiet.
He is focused, and no matter the setback, he does not let it linger. This is one of the most incredible things about Nadeem, and you cannot really teach it either,” his coach said.
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International competitions
- NR−National Record
- GR−Games Record
- q−Qualification round
- SB− Season’s Best
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | South Asian Games | Guwahati, India |  |
Javelin throw | 78.33 m |
| Asian Junior Athletics Championships | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | |
Javelin throw | 73.40 m | |
| World U20 Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 30th (q) | Javelin throw | 67.17 m | |
| 2017 | Islamic Solidarity Games | Baku, Azerbaijan | |
Javelin throw | 76.33 m |
| Asian Championships | Bhubaneswar, India | 7th | Javelin throw | 78.00 m | |
| 2018 | Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 8th | Javelin throw | 76.02 m |
| Asian Games | Jakarta, Indonesia | |
Javelin throw | 80.75 m | |
| 2019 | Asian Championships | Doha, Qatar | 6th | Javelin throw | 78.55 m |
| World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 16th (q) | Javelin throw | 81.52 m NR | |
| South Asian Games | Kathmandu, Nepal |  |
Javelin throw | 86.29 m GR NR | |
| 2021 | Imam Reza Cup | Mashhad, Iran | |
Javelin throw | 86.38 m NR |
| Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 5th | Javelin throw | 84.62 m | |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, Oregon, United States | 5th | Javelin throw | 86.16 m |
| Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, England | |
Javelin throw | 90.18 m GR NR | |
| Islamic Solidarity Games | Konya, Turkey | |
Javelin throw | 88.55 m GR | |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary |  |
Javelin throw | 87.82 m SB |
| 2024 | Olympic Games | Paris, France | |
Javelin throw | 92.97 m OR |
Seasonal bests by year
| Year | Performance | Place | Date[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 70.46 metres | Islamabad, Pakistan | 3 April |
| 2016 | 78.33 metres | Guwahati, India | 10 February |
| 2017 | 78 metres | Bhubaneswar, India | 9 July |
| 2018 | 80.75 metres | Jakarta, Indonesia | 27 August |
| 2019 | 86.29 metres (GR) | Kathmandu, Nepal | 7 December |
| 2021 | 86.38 metres | Mashhad, Iran | 12 April |
| 2022 | 90.18 metres (GR) | Birmingham, England | 7 August |
| 2023 | 87.82 metres | Budapest, Hungary | 27 August |
| 2024 | 92.97 metres (OR) | Paris, France | 8 August |
