Who is Jan Zelezny? Meet javelin star Neeraj Chopra’s new coach 

Neeraj Chopra has roped in Jan Zelezny from the Czech Republic as his new coach. He is a part of the 31-day training camp with Zelezny, which is scheduled to be held later in November at Potchefstroom, South Africa. As per the Czech Athletics Federation, Zelezny will serve as Neeraj’s coach for the next two years.

Zelezny holds the world record for the best throw of 98.48 meters which he achieved in Jena in May 1996. He rose to fame after winning the gold medal in the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. The javelin thrower also finished on top of the podium in Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.

He also won a silver medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Moreover, Zelezny won three gold medals and bronze in the World Championships.

Zelezny also made a name for himself as a coach. He was the coach of Jakub Vadlejch, who won the silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics, and Vitezslav Vesely, who won bronze at the same quadrennial event. He also worked as the coach of Barbora Spotakova, who bagged two Olympic medals and won the World Championship title three times.

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"Working with him will be invaluable" - Neeraj Chopra

Along with Zelezny, Neeraj Chopra will also have physiotherapist Ishaan Marwaha at the training camp in South Africa. The Indian athlete was delighted to appoint Zelezny, saying he followed in the Czech's footsteps after taking cues from his videos.

“Growing up, I admired Jan’s technique and precision and spent a lot of time watching videos of him. He was the best in the sport for so many years and I believe that working with him will be invaluable because of our throwing styles are similar and his knowledge is unmatched,” Neeraj said via Olympics.com.

As far as Neeraj is concerned, he has put India on the map of athletics on the world stage. He won gold in the Tokyo Olympics and followed it up with silver in Paris. Recently, he finished second in the Diamond League Final in Brussels.

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