Germany's Thomas Rohler took Olympic gold in the men's javelin on Saturday with a best throw of 90.30 metres.
Kenya's world champion Julius Yego threw 88.24 metres on his first attempt, a season best and good enough to hold the lead until the penultimate round when Rohler unleashed his massive throw.
A limping Yego then retired from the competition after suffering an ankle injury that forced him out of competition.
London 2012 champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago threw 85.38 metres on his second attempt. He needed a personal best on his last throw to bump Rohler from the gold medal position but produced a no throw and finished with bronze.
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Rohler has struggled with a back injury this season but showed promising form ahead of the Olympics, having thrown a world leading mark of 91.28 metres in June.
Athletics-Men's javelin throw final results
Aug 20 (Gracenote) - Olympic athletics men's javelin throw final result in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. 1. Thomas Roehler (Germany) 90.30 metres 2. Julius Yego (Kenya) 88.24 3. Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad and Tobago) 85.38 4. Johannes Vetter (Germany) 85.32 5. Dmytro Kosynskyy (Ukraine) 83.95 6. Antti Ruuskanen (Finland) 83.05 7. Vitezslav Vesely (Czech Republic) 82.51 8. Jakub Vadlejch (Czech Republic) 82.42 9. Julian Weber (Germany) 81.36 10. Braian Toledo (Argentina) 79.81 11. Ryohei Arai (Japan) 79.47 12. Petr Frydrych (Czech Republic) 79.12