Johannes Vetter ready to throw down!
After a long period of injury, javelin thrower Johannes Vetter is making a comeback and launching his Olympic season.
Johannes Vetter, the German record holder for javelin (97.76 metres), has his sights firmly fixed on the future after two difficult years full of sporting and health setbacks. The last two years have been hard for Vetter from an athletics perspective, during which he has barely been able to participate in any competitions due to ongoing shoulder pain.
This period was shaped by the frustrating experience of having to miss vital competitions such as the 2022 World Championships in Eugene (USA), a home European Championships in Munich, and the 2023 World Championship title competitions. However, despite some bitter disappointments for an elite athlete, Vetter has never given up. Although the exact cause of his shoulder pain was never clearly identified, Vetter and his team – consisting primarily of his physiotherapist plus his personal trainer and German javelin team coach Boris Obergföll – realised that his shoulder blade had shifted slightly after years of throwing, adversely impacting his mobility. He was able to counteract the problem with targeted physiotherapy measures, including strength and mobility exercises. These efforts were ultimately successful and Vetter‘s shoulder is now pain-free. The injury has now been cured, and since the autumn, the 2017 world champion has been working hard on his comeback.
As well as lots of physio sessions to put his shoulder blade back in the right position, the German athletics federation (DLV) athlete from LG Offenburg began throwing again in mid-October and has been continually working with his coach Boris Obergföll on throwing technique.
Training camp in South Africa
In December, the army sport soldier headed to Stellenbosch in South Africa for his first training camp in order to lay the groundwork for his upcoming challenges and the Olympic season. From mid-February to early March, he attended another training camp as part of a four-person javelin team from the German athletics foundation (DLV), also in South Africa, this time in Potchefstroom near Johannesburg. Alongside reigning European champion Julian Weber (USC Mainz), 2018 European champion Christin Hussong (LAZ Zweibrücken) and Jana Marie Lowka (Eintracht Frankfurt), he prepared for the upcoming season in perfect climate conditions at temperatures of over 20 to 30 degrees Celsius. The warm temperatures in the southernmost point of Africa are good for the muscles and reduce the risk of injury under huge stress. Furthermore, the elite athletes can also take advantage of top training facilities and the suitable surface at the ‘sports village’ near Johannesburg.
Training priorities in South Africa were essentially the same as during everyday training sessions at home, except for being somewhat more intensive. The programme primarily included strength and power training, as well as javelin-specific sessions, throwing training and technique training. The javelin throwers completed around nine training sessions per week. Each athlete followed their own individual programme during the camp. At least an hour a day of therapeutic treatment by the physiotherapists and osteopaths who travelled with them was also supplemented with sauna or ice bath sessions. Biomechanics expert and federal coach Boris Obergföll, who also attended the camp, worked with the athletes to regularly analyse video recordings of throwing sessions and develop optimisations.
No time for safaris
Ideal weather and breathtaking scenery: South Africa is a dream destination for many holidaymakers. For Jojo Vetter, however, it primarily meant hard work and ‘no time for safaris or other fun’, as he put it. The autumn and winter is the hardest training period, involving high volumes and sweat-inducing sessions to lay the foundations for success in the summer. The focus of the training camp was therefore very clearly defined. In his few moments of free time between the various sessions, Johannes generally opted to kick back and relax by the hotel pool. The athletes and assistants attending the camp also sometimes enjoyed evening meals together outside of the compound. However, the vast majority of his time (including mealtimes) was spent at the hotel or in training sessions.
A standard day for Johannes Vetter at the training camp looked like this:
- 7.30 a.m. get up
- 8.00 a.m. breakfast in the lobby
- 10.00 a.m. training
- 12.30/1 p.m. lunch
- 4.00 p.m. training
- 7.00/8.00 p.m. dinner
- Then physio before heading to bed to sleep
Comeback with a focus on the Olympics
Vetter is now looking forward to the upcoming season – culminating at the Olympics in Paris – with new courage and fresh confidence. He is determined to put his period of injury behind him and make a return to the upper echelons of javelin throwing. Now it is gradually time to get back into competition mode and develop the competition fitness he needs. The European Throwing Cup in Leiria (Portugal) last week was still too early for the soon-to-be 31-year-old (26 March) Offenburg native from Dresden: Jojo was suffering slight lingering elbow problems and was ‘a little exhausted from the training camp in South Africa’, so opted not to compete. Vetter would have liked to have ticked off the Olympic qualifying distance of 85.50 metres, but health is the top priority.
In the coming weeks, he will continue his normal training rhythm and focus on his next competitions. 21 April will most likely see another training camp in Belek (Turkey). He is not ruling out the possibility of spontaneously competing in local competitions. Otherwise, this year’s athletics calendar is brimming with competition dates where the DLV athlete will be seeking to get into competition shape and start chalking up big throws again.
There are various Continental Tour meetings available, with the decision on whether to compete being made on short notice. The Diamond League begins in Doha in early May. 12 May offers a home competition date, the HYLO® Speerwurfmeeting in Offenburg. Other fixed points in the calendar include the European Athletics Championships in Rome (7 to 12 June 2024) and potentially also the German Championships in Braunschweig on 29 June. The highlight of Johannes Vetter‘s season will then be 6 August (qualification) to 8 August 2024 for the javelin finals at the Olympic Games in Paris.
The last couple of years may have been a challenge, but they have only increased Vetter’s resolve. With his unshakeable will and his passion for the sport, Johannes Vetter will once again be delivering top performances en route to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. We look forward to supporting him on this exciting journey.