Julius Yego knows the clock is ticking. At 36, the Kenyan javelin star is preparing for what could be his final appearance on the global stage — and he’s not holding back.

“I’m going for it,” Yego said in a recent interview, speaking ahead of the World Athletics Championships set for Tokyo. “Maybe it’ll be difficult for me to go for another, so I’m holding my breath that I stay healthy and give it my best.”

Yego, the 2015 world champion and 2016 Olympic silver medallist, has been here before. He’s thrown further than almost anyone in the sport’s history — his personal best of 92.72 metres, set in Beijing, still stands as the African record. But the years since have been punctuated by injuries and inconsistent form.

This year, though, there’s a sense of quiet optimism. “I competed with the favourites of the past few years, and I’m at the same level as them,” he said. “It’s just making sure that by the time we reach the World Championships, my form is at a peak. That’s what I’m working on now.”

Yego’s journey — from teaching himself the sport through YouTube videos to winning on the world stage — has made him one of Kenya’s most unlikely sports heroes. In a country famed for long-distance runners, his rise in a field event has long defied expectations.

Now, as he heads into his seventh World Championships since debuting in Moscow in 2013, Yego isn’t just aiming for a medal. He’s also casting a critical eye on the next generation.

Speaking about recent local competitions, he praised the growth of women’s javelin in Kenya, saying the improvement is promising. “We had some ladies doing 52 and 50 metres,” he noted. “It means the level of competition with the ladies is going up.”

But he had a firmer message for the men. “Maybe they need to pick up their souls because the gap is too huge,” Yego said with a chuckle. “If you do 75 this year, aim for 80 metres next year.”

His challenge reflects a wider concern — that Kenya still lacks depth in field events, even as athletes like Yego continue to inspire.

With the Tokyo Championships drawing closer, Yego is focused not just on medals, but on making his final throws count.

“If this is the last time I wear Kenya’s colours on a world stage,” he said, “I want it to be something to remember.”