Why Arshad Nadeem’s Olympic Gold Medal for Pakistan Is So Significant

Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan made history at the Paris Summer Olympics on Thursday, bagging his home nation its first ever Olympic track and field win. Nadeem will bring home the first gold medal the South Asian country has seen in 40 years.  

The 27-year-old athlete, hailing from Mian Channu, in Pakistan’s Punjab province, shattered an Olympic record when he launched a throw of 92.97 m on his second attempt in the men’s javelin final. Nadeem bested the previous record of 90.57 m, registered by Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. 

“Our brother has won the gold medal and I’ve lost my voice because I’ve been celebrating all night,” his brother Shahid Nadeem told CNN on Friday, as celebrations continued into the night across Pakistan. Nadeem is the third of eight siblings born to Muhammad Ashraf, a retired construction worker, and Raziah Parveen. 

“When he gets home we will celebrate him in such a way that the world will never forget! We are simple people and will celebrate with kheer (rice pudding) and whatever Allah gives us, we are happy!” Shahid said.

Nadeem arrived in Paris as a silver medalist, after he became the first ever Pakistani athlete to claim a medal at the World Athletics Champions in 2023. In Thursday's final, he beat out defending champion Neeraj Chopra of India, 26, who secured a silver medal in the final. Chopra recorded a best of 89.45 m alongside five other fouled attempts. Grenada’s two-time world champion Anderson Peters, 26, won bronze with a 88.54 m throw. 

Despite fierce competition, Nadeem and Chopra’s friendship warmed hearts as the athletes—hailing from nations with a history of conflict since the Partition of India in 1947—defy lingering tensions. The pair were seen embracing each other after claiming their medals. According to local media, Nadeem and Chopra’s mothers have each said their son’s competitor is like their own child. 

Pakistan’s sporting excellence is often concentrated in cricket, but the nation now has 11 Olympic medals across men’s hockey, men’s wrestling, and men’s boxing. The nation sent a contingent of seven athletes to Paris this year. 

Nadeem’s win breaks Pakistan’s 32-year Olympics dry spell since the men’s hockey team claimed the nation’s last medal, winning bronze at the Barcelona games in 1992. But it has been four decades since Pakistan left the games with a gold medal. The men’s hockey team won first place in Los Angeles in 1984, and prior to that the team also won gold in 1960 and 1968.  

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Nadeem on his historic win with a post on X (formerly Twitter). “You’ve made the whole nation proud young man,” he wrote.