The Grenadian Anderson Peters has been on a sensational run this year, besting India's Olympic medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra in multiple events. But once, he wanted to be a fast bowler and bowl so fast that the batsman would not know where it went.
“I liked cricket. We had two seasons: cricket and track-and-field in Grenada. I would do both. I was a fast bowler. I just liked the idea of throwing the ball, I felt I could bowl it so fast that the batsman can’t even see it. I would always aim to throw a 90 mph ball even though I couldn’t as a kid,” Peters said in a world athletics podcast.
But soon his love shifted from cricket to athletics when he saw Usain Bolt beat the world record. “Usain Bolt was also on the scene at that time, so I wanted to be a sprinter,” Peters said.
He wanted to become a sprinter but injuries forced him to take up javelin. At the age of 20, he ran in sub-11 in the 100 metres and was a part of 4x100m relay team for his country at the Carifta Games in 2016.
“But in Form Two I picked up a few injuries so in form three and I returned to javelin,” Peters recalled.
While Neeraj's best at World Championships 2022 was 88.13m which won him the silver, Peters crossed the 90m-mark again with a 90.54m throw to clinch the gold medal. Peters’ throw have been keeping Chopra at bay as the latter is yet to cross the 90m-mark.
