Klaus Bartonietz is the coach of renowned Indian Javelin thrower and reigning Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, find out more about him below along with his bio and country
Neeraj is the defending champion of the Asian games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics, in the javelin throw event.
Who is Klaus Bartonietz javelin throw coach of Indian Neeraj Chopra, biography, country and coaching career
The pair have a strong bond and having already tasted success in several prestigious international tournaments, they look all set for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Klaus Bartonietz
Klaus Bartonietz is a biomechanics expert from Germany who currently serves as the coach of Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra. According to his LinkedIn page, Klaus works as an athletic coach, specializing in javelin throw for the Indian Sports Authority. As such, he currently resides in Patiala, Punjab, India. Bartonietz is an expert in the technicalities of the sport despite himself having never played it. He is well respected in his field and much loved by fans as well.
Klaus Bartonietz and Neeraj Chopra
Bartonietz first crossed paths with Neeraj Chopra back in 2018, starting as an assistant to fellow German coach and former javelin thrower Uwe Horn. He eventually took over complete charge as the main head coach of Chopra in 2021. Back in 2019, Neeraj suffered a major injury on his throwing arm’s elbow, ruling him out for almost a year. Despite the setback, Klaus and his team put in tremendous effort and work for a smooth recovery process.
After making a full from a 16-month hiatus, Neeraj Chopra came back and won the Athletics Central North West League Meeting with a 87.86 metres throw in 2020. As a result, he secured a berth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, the COVID-19 pandemic kicked in and brought everything to a standstill. However, Klaus Bartonietz refused to slow down and worked with Chopra throughout the lockdown, focussing on his fitness and flexibility. And once the lockdown restrictions got lifted, the duo spent several more months at the National Institute of Sports.
All their hard work eventually paid off as Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on August 7, 2021 with a throw of 87.58 metres. The Indian javelin thrower also became the first Indian to win a gold medal in athletics at an Olympic event.
Other pursuits
Klaus Bartonietz is one of the world’s leading experts on javelin throw and the mechanisms involved in the sport. As a result, besides working with Neeraj, Klaus is also part of the podcast series named Secrets of Sports Science. He has own segment titled ‘The Art of the Javelin Throw by Dr. Klaus Bartonietz’. In the podcast, he talks about the various aspects of Javelin throw like the release momentum, the biomechanics of braking, and the varied releasing angles, as well as other technicalities.