Finland's Jere Murto wins U18 javelin gold with record throw

Finnish athlete Jere Murto has claimed the U18 European Athletics Championships javelin gold medal with an outstanding performance in Rieti, Italy. The 17-year-old threw a personal best of 80.41 meters, dominating the final and outclassing his competitors.

Murto's winning throw was the longest among the five longest throws in the EM final. British athlete Edward Scott secured second place, finishing more than ten meters behind Murto with a throw of 70.02 meters. Murto's result also establishes a new world record under the new javelin model, which was introduced in 2025.

According to the International Association of Athletics Federations' statistics service, Murto's throw is a world record for the new javelin model. If considering the previous 700-gram model used from 1974-80 and 1996-2024, Murto ranks fifth on Finland's all-time list. For context, Topi Parviainen threw 84.52 meters at the age-group European Championships in 2022.

The gold medal is Finland's third at these championships, bringing their total medal count to four. In other events, heptathlon champion Alisa Launonen ran a personal best of 13.21 seconds in the 100m hurdles final, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal.