Participants in the competition and their results:
1. Matthias de Zordo GER 86.27 (SB)
2. Andreas Thorkildsen NOR 84.78
3. Guillermo Martínez CUB 84.30
4. Vítezslav Veselý CZE 84.11 (SB)
5. Fatih Avan TUR 83.34
6. Roman Avramenko UKR 82.51
7. Jarrod Bannister AUS 82.25 (SB)
8. Mark Frank GER 81.81
9. Antti Ruuskanen FIN 79.46
10. Dmitri Tarabin RUS 79.06
11. Stuart Farquhar NZL 78.99
12. Sergey Makarov RUS 78.76
De Zordo hits it hard for javelin gold
DAEGU (South Korea), Sept 3 — German Matthias de Zordo "hit it hard" on the first attempt to condemn Norway's defending champion Andreas Thorkildsen to javelin silver at the world athletics championships today.
"I do not know what was wrong with Andreas Thorkildsen, why he was not able to attack," the burly German happily told reporters.
His first throw of 86.27 metres was enough to take the Norwegian's title in Daegu, which was just as well as De Zordo injured his ankle after his fourth attempt and needed treatment.
"My coach told me to hit it hard on the first attempt," he added. "I am glad I was able to and I am really happy that it was enough to win."
A groin injury hampered Thorkildsen in his first two meetings of the year but since then he has looked as if he has been approaching unbeatable form.
The Olympic champion, though, came up short under the Daegu floodlights.
"When it comes to statistics, this is my worst result since the world championships in Paris (in 2003)," he said.
"Still, this is my eighth medal from big competitions in a row. I know that gold was reachable, but my technique today was just bad."