This Will NEVER Happen Again || The WORLD RECORD That Will Stand Forever (G.O.A.T Athlete)

There are only a very small set of individuals that ever have the ability to reign as the undisputed greatest in any athletic discipline. Even in some of the most popular sports in the world, teamwork is vastly more important in comparison to independent athletic abilities, so the argument of greatest of all time is often up for debate among analysts and sporting enthusiasts across the globe. However, there are a few sporting events where the individual effort reigns supreme, and it's only in these specific sports where the title of greatest ever is actually somewhat attainable. The sport of track and field has a rich and deep history of international competitions dating all the way back to the late 1800s. For well over a century, countless talents have come and gone, leaving massive influence and sporting greatness in their wake. It's undeniable that some athletes have gotten close to becoming the greatest to ever compete, however in most cases, there's a conversation to be had about their status in comparison to other athletes over time. In this one video, we'll be discussing one individual whose performances and overall influence on the sport were so undeniably important, that it's practically a fact that he is the all-time greatest in the history of the sport. On May 31st of 1987, a relatively unknown athlete from Czechoslovakia entered a small meet in his home country, and on his second throw of this javelin competition, he broke the previous world record by almost 2 meters. This initial breakthrough was a stunning development for this then 21-year-old athlete. Throughout his previous few years, he had shown promise in the men's javelin, however this world record changed everything. Fast forward 3 months to August 30th, and Jan Jelezny entered the track and field world championships with a realistic shot at winning a medal in the men's javelin. At just 21, he was still untested on the international stage, however despite his youth and global championship inexperience, his second round effort proved to be enough to win a bronze medal in this competition. With a throw of 82.20 meters, Jelezny was now officially a global championship medalist, making him one of the youngest athletes to ever mount the podium in world championship history. Despite the fact that he rose to worldwide prominence much faster than most, there was simply no one that could have predicted what would happen over the next 19 years. This is the story of the greatest javelin thrower to ever live. After earning a bronze medal in 1987, Jelezny took his talents to the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea just one year later in 1988. This was a very unique opportunity for this then 22-year-old, as no previous Czech athlete had ever medaled in the Olympics in this event, and just like he had done the previous year, he managed a fantastic throw to place in the top three on the world's biggest stage. For his sixth and final throw of this competition, he managed a distance of 84.12 meters, only missing the Olympic gold medal by 16 centimeters. At just 22 years old, Jelezny was now a two-time global championship medalist, and with each passing competition, it seemed as though his consistency and mental approach to the sport were unquestionably improving, and while it seemed almost a guarantee that he would soon throw over 90 meters, Jelezny's progression unfortunately soon came to a very quick halt. The sport of the javelin, unlike most athletic disciplines, has a very complicated history. As far back as 708 BC, the javelin was originally utilized in ancient Olympic games. However, fast forward more than 2,000 years later, we then see this throwing discipline officially recognized in 1912 by the International Athletics Federation, and ever since that time, the world record in this event has been broken a total of 46 times over the past 109 years. What really makes the modern era of this discipline so fascinating is the throwing instrument itself. From 1912 to 1984, the javelin took one simple form that was widely used by every athlete around the globe. Over this 72-year period, the world record had slowly risen from 62.32 meters up to a distance of 99.72 meters, but then on July 20th of 1984, Yue Hon from Germany achieved a truly astonishing distance of 104.80 meters. This throw almost overthrew the entire landing zone. In fact, if you look closely here, it only landed a few short meters from a handful of athletes just beyond this landing area. In hindsight, this throw literally broke the sport of javelin, because soon after this landmark achievement, the throwing instrument itself changed in weight and overall form in order to maintain further safety in future throwing. This means that after Hon's throw well beyond the 100 meter mark, the governing body of athletics realized that this whole javelin thing may in fact present real safety concerns if world records continue forward, and therefore, new spears were soon introduced to lower the overall performances of each and every athlete. It's quite the flex on worldwide sport to say that you literally changed the rules to an entire athletic endeavor, and over the next few years, many throwers from around the world had to completely change their throwing methods in order to adapt to this new throwing device. This change undoubtedly affected various athletes from around the globe, and even though the reason for this paramount change was safety, Jan Jelezny would ultimately prove to be the one athlete who continued to challenge future javelin standards. From 1990 to 1991, Jelezny found himself in a rather confusing time. In 1990, he actually managed to break the world record yet again with a throw of 89.66 meters. However, it would only be two years after this achievement that this world record would be disqualified as an official world record, given that once again, a new standard of javelin was introduced for safety concerns. Despite practically erasing his previous year's worth of throws, including a new world record in July of 1990, Jelezny still entered the 1991 season as one of the greatest throwers in the entire world. In the Tokyo World Championships in 91, Jelezny was one of the premier contenders for a top three finish, however, for one of the world's most gifted athletes, tragedy soon struck in the qualifying rounds. For his opening throw, Jelezny unfortunately fouled, and in his second round, he only managed a distance of 76.26 meters, which placed him well outside of the qualifying standard. For his final throw, Jelezny at last got his throwing correct, as he saw the javelin land well beyond the 85 meter mark, a throw that easily met the qualifying standard for a place in the finals. However, according to the line technician, his hand landed just beyond the legal zone for throwing, and according to this one official, this throw was once again a foul. At no point did anyone expect Jelezny wouldn't even make it to the finals, but against all odds, he was eliminated from the world championships with no medal to show for his efforts. Building up to these 91 world championships, Jelezny had remained undefeated for his entire 1991 season, achieving many great throws well beyond the 85 meter mark. However, by mere centimeters, his placement in these championships was cut tragically short. In hindsight, this shortcoming was likely a very significant moment for Jelezny. Upon reaching these world championships, his throwing form was absolutely incredible, but in what had to be one of the most frustrating and disheartening moments of his entire career, he left this global stage empty-handed. For many athletes, the desire to win can be extremely overwhelming. For days, weeks, months, and even years, sacrifice and daily determination take precedence in order to perform at their best when it matters the most. However, if something happens, such as tripping with one lap to run, or perhaps falling just beyond the legal zone, an athlete has a very important decision to make. Give up on the sport, or never ever let this happen again. And for Jan Jelezny, his decision soon became extremely obvious. In 1992, Jelezny opened his season with a dominating win in Ostrava, hitting a distance of 90.02 meters, which, at the time, made him only the third athlete ever to throw beyond the 90 meter distance. This was quite the effort in the early stages of 1992. However, for his very next competition at Oslo, Norway, Jelezny would go on to shock the world. For this global event, he was far and away the class of the field, throwing beyond 90 meters on four separate throws, which to this day has never been duplicated by any other athlete. In round 3, he hit a distance of 90.10 meters. In round 4, he achieved a throw of 90.78. In round 5, he improved again with a throw of 91.24. However, in round 6, he hit a distance that was so unbelievable that it has only ever been achieved by two athletes in track and field history. For his final throw, he achieved what seemed to be an impossible height on this throw, and incredibly, the javelin landed at a distance of 94.74 meters. Let's take a moment to remember that the International Athletics Federation literally changed the entire form of the javelin so it would be borderline impossible for an athlete to overthrow the landing zone and put other athletes and other events in danger. However, Jelezny's abilities were certainly off the charts. This throw once again would have been a new world record, however this particular javelin was not ratified by the governing body, making this world record again a non-official performance for Jean Jelezny. After setting the world on fire with 4 throws beyond 90 meters, Jelezny took his momentum into the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and in his very first round, he managed a throw of 89.66 meters, breaking the Olympic record and winning his very first Olympic gold medal. After an amazing 1992 season, Jelezny had emerged as one of the greatest javelin throwers in the entire world, however in 1993, he achieved what just might be the greatest javelin season of all time. On April 6th of 1993, he opened his season with a new world record in Petersburg, South Africa, hitting a fantastic distance of 95.54 meters. This was yet another landmark moment in the men's javelin, however Jelezny was just getting started. Fast forward to August of that same season, and Jelezny would break his own world record yet again, throwing the instrument an unreal distance of 95.66 meters. After a second round effort of 95.34, he somehow managed to out throw his already almost world record performance, and he did this with an absolutely historic throw. This 93 season was simply dominant, in addition to breaking the world record twice, he also managed to win the world championships with a throw of 85.98 meters, and with this incredible momentum, this athlete seemed almost unbeatable. In 1994, the new undisputed greatest javelin thrower in the entire world continued taking the world by storm, throwing over 90 meters on seven separate occasions, and also winning the Helsinki World Games on June 29th. The following year, he once again dominated the world championships, and also for his final five competitions of this 1995 season, he threw well over 90 meters in each of these events, winning these final five competitions by massive margins. Following these previous incredible seasons, Jelezny entered the 96 season as a heavy favorite for the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. However, on May 31st, just two months before his third Olympic appearance, he achieved a mark that was so unbelievable, that to this day, it still remains as the single highest scoring moment in the entire history of men's athletics. This was the one throw that changed history. The art of the javelin is deceptive. With a quick glance, raw strength and rapid arm speed seem to be the key factors in achieving success. However, in order to be competitive with the world's greatest, there are many more factors that are required. These characteristics include incredible balance, intense body control, solid footwork, and world-class focus all combined into one instantaneous moment. For many athletes, their abilities in sport are almost immediately recognizable, standing high above most and also carrying much more muscle than many of us could ever dream of. However, this premeditated body perception did not apply to Jean Jelezny. At 6'1 and 192 pounds, he was certainly in shape, however his historic abilities would almost always be overlooked by the average person passing by. What Jelezny did so well was what many would describe as throwing perfection. Not only did he have the ability to contort his body to an almost unrealistic level, but his instantaneous and borderline whip-like effect with his arm helped him achieve javelin speeds well over 100 miles per hour. In addition to his arm speed, his footwork, body control, and angle of release were almost ideal, helping him achieve marks that were never previously possible, and as we alluded to just a few moments earlier, on May 31st of 1996, he achieved one of the most incredible moments in sporting history. In a small track meet in Jena, Germany, Jelezny proved his historic form by achieving a throw of 98.48 meters, which to this day still remains as the untouched world record. At the time, this throw improved on his previous world record by almost 3%, which makes this one achievement one of the all-time greatest world records in history. However, in comparison to any athlete before him, this throw was over 4% longer than anyone else, which is a remarkable level of improvement over any other athlete. After shocking the world with this 98.48, Jelezny went on to win the Atlanta Olympics with a second round effort of 88.16, which at the time made him one of only three athletes to ever successfully defend their Olympic golds. At this point in his athletics career, Jelezny was a two-time Olympic champion, he was a two-time world champion, he had broken the world record on four separate occasions, and now at 30 years of age, he was arguably set to retire as the greatest javelin thrower of all time. And even though these extraordinary accolades already made him a true legend of the sport, Jan Jelezny was still just getting started. In 1997, he opened his season with three convincing wins all well over the 90 meter mark. However, as the 97 world championships approach, he unfortunately started having back issues, clearly resulting from his demanding technique in the javelin. In the 97 world championships, he only placed ninth with a throw of 82.04 meters, and because of this, he took the entire 1998 season off. However, when he returned in the 1999 season, he once again returned with world-class form. Throughout 1999, Jelezny managed to throw beyond 80 meters in every single one of his competitions, and once again in the 1999 world championships, he again emerged with a global medal, placing third with a throw of 87.67 meters. At 33 years of age, Jelezny was in his twilight years of his career, however, the clear question now was could he make history in the year 2000 in the Sydney Olympics, and win an unprecedented third Olympic gold medal? Indeed, this particular task of triple gold in any event is not easy, and only a handful of athletes have ever managed to achieve this, however, winning your third gold medal in your fourth Olympic games at the age of 34? Well, many saw this as an insurmountable task. Up to this point, Jelezny had done almost everything a javelin thrower could ever hope for, however, in round three, with one single throw, he achieved something that nobody else in history has ever attained. With a third round effort of 90.17 meters, he had just broken the Olympic record, and at 34 years of age, he had become the first and only athlete ever to win three Olympic golds in the javelin. After this remarkable victory, Jelezny somehow continued his success, winning both the Commonwealth gold medal and the world championships in 2001. For the next few seasons, he still managed to compete on the international scene, however, after 2001, he was never able to achieve a distance of 90 meters ever again. In 2006, now at 40 years of age, Jelezny announced his retirement after two decades of incredible performances. Combined with his legendary distances and historic global championship performances, he managed to be one of the most competitive javelin throwers in the world for 23 straight years, which in my personal opinion, makes it a clear and undisputed fact that there will never ever be another athlete like Jan Jelezny.