Nadeem throws his way into Games history for Pakistan

He may have entered this competition as the underdog, perhaps with a little less of the name recognition of his Indian rival Neeraj Chopra, but Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem wrote his name in the stars, winning the men's javelin final to become the first track-and-field athlete from Pakistan to win a gold medal at an Olympic Games.

- Alexandra Topping

And he did it with panache, beating his long-time rival, and equally longtime friend Chopra, and smashing an Olympic record in the process.

The mark of 90.57m, set by Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen at Bejing 2008, receded into the rear view mirror as Nadeem put body and soul into his second throw, shocked delight rising from the stands when the distance came up: 92.97.

Nadeem threw his arms up in celebration and near disbelief when the record flashed up on the board, confirming that it was the longest throw in the world this year.

He became his country's first medallist since 1992, when they won bronze in men's hockey in Barcelona.

With his record-breaking throw he became only the fourth athlete to cross the 90m mark in the men's javelin at the Games.

The 27-year-old, who finished fifth in Tokyo with a throw of 84.62, already held the honour of being the first Pakistani to qualify for the final of any track and field event in the history of the Olympics.