Yego aiming to rise above recent form at London Worlds

Rio Olympics silver medalist and javelin World champion Julius Yego said he expects to put aside recent poor form when he takes to the turf at the IAAF World Athletics championships in London.

Yego performed dismally at the Monaco Diamond League last week and has endured a poor season overall but has his sights set on a top podium finish at the British capital.

The 28-year-old has been a shadow of himself since returning from Rio with an ankle injury and had only two valid throws of 74.43m and 79.36m last week in Monaco.

With less than a fortnight to the World championships, Yego hopes his struggles will spur him on to glory.

“Training is okay just that last week I really struggled in Monaco, but I don’t know why. I think I was very tired after working so hard in training without rest; I think that played a part in my performance.

“I’m grateful for what happened since performance like those wake you up. For now I’m just focusing on my technique and nothing more in a bid to make sure everything will be okay in London,” Yego told Citizen Digital.

The Commonwealth champion says he has no pressure as the defending champion and has got no injury worries that could potentially drag him down at the global showpiece slated for August 4-13.

Last month during the National Trials for the London Championships, the former African champion threw a season best of 87.97m.

It is an impressive throw but is dwarfed by those of his German opponents led by Olympic champion Thomas Rholer and Johannes Vetter who have season bests of 93.90 and 94.44m.

Nonetheless, Yego adds he is unfazed by such opposition.

“Yes of course I’m aiming for a gold medal! In anything I do I always want to give it my best. This is another championship, I am the World Champion and you know everybody will be looking at me.

“It’s true the Germans have been doing so well yet it’s also clear I haven’t had a smooth competition this season. My graph has not been consistent but my focus is to get to the finals and defend my title,” Yego said.

Yego became the first Kenyan to win a World championship title in a field event during the 2015 Beijing Championships where team Kenya finished topped the world with a total of 16 medals; seven gold, six silver and three bronze medals.