BEIJING, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- A stunning 92.72 meters effort by Julius Yego in javelin gifted Kenya the first gold medal in field events at the IAAF World Championships, and the country's fifth in Beijing.
Yego nailed the title in his third attempt with the season best throw that could put him in third place in all-time outdoor top list.
"I am so happy, I can't even express it. Being the world champion, being from Kenya, it is unbelievable for me. It is a nice prize for me, because I have really been working hard to win this championship," he said.
And Yego skipped the last three throws after 92.72 meters.
"After throwing 92, I felt some pain in my foot, so I need to take it easy. I played it safe, I knew nobody else is going to throw farther than that," he explained.
It is not the first time for Yego to impress crowds. At the 2015 IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham, the 26-year-old posted 91.39 meters to break the African and Diamond League records.
Yego taught himself in his early career.
"It's difficult to find a proper javelin coach in Kenya, I had to download videos from Youtube and try to learn the skills," he said.
The former policeman's career was not as smooth as he had expected, especially when he narrowly missed the podium in 2013 World Championships.
"Remember, in Moscow I almost won a bronze medal, but at the last throw a Russian athlete didn't let me win, but this time I came out strong," he said.