Olympics & Paralympics

Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi Wins Gold in Women’s Javelin Throw; 1st Japanese to Win in the Event

AP Photo / Ashley Landis
Haruka Kitaguchi celebrates after winning the gold medal in the women’s javelin throw final at the Summer Olympics on Saturday in Saint-Denis, France.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:53 JST, August 11, 2024

PARIS – Haruka Kitaguchi, 26, won the gold medal in the women’s javelin throw event on Saturday in Paris.

Her longest throw in the final was 65.80 meters.

The 176-centimeter-tall athlete had since childhood excelled in a variety of sports, including badminton and swimming.

She took up javelin when she was a senior high school student in Hokkaido and became the champion of a Hokkaido tournament just two months after beginning the sport.

In 2019, after enrolling in Nihon University, she moved her training camp to the Czech Republic. In October the same year, she set a Japanese record of 66.00 meters. In 2023, she beat that record with a throw of 67.38 meters.

At the Tokyo Olympics, she was the first Japanese female javelin thrower to make it to the final in 57 years and finished 12th.

Social media: Haruka Kitaguchi threw a stunning 65.80 meters to claim a gold medal in the javelin throw at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.