Paris Olympic Games: How New Zealand javelin thrower Tori Peeters has become a 2024 contender

On her calendar at home, New Zealand javelin exponent Tori Peeters has three dates circled.

One is for her December wedding to fiance Cam – one of the biggest events in anyone’s life – but the other two are almost as important.

They are for the javelin qualifying and final at the Paris Olympics, where the 29-year-old hopes to make a big impression.

That feels entirely possible after a breakthrough 2023 season where she extended her New Zealand record to 63.26m and achieved some of the biggest results in her career. Across a few years, Peeters has gone from being a highly promising thrower to a genuine contender, with throws that rank her inside the top 16 in the world.

“We have the dates in Paris, the 7th and the 10th [August] and everything, my whole plans, work back from that,” Peeters tells the Herald.

Her confidence is justified. Peeters put together an impressive series last year, reaching the podium in five European meets, along with the prestigious Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Yokohama, with the highlight being a silver medal at the Diamond League final in Oregon.

“I was really happy with the consistency that I showed,” says Peeters. “That was the main thing I wanted to work on. I showed the other girls that I am there to compete and I want to make my mark and have a bit of presence.”

Tori Peeters has been producing throws that rank her inside the top 16 in the world. Photo / Photosport

While Peeters has not yet reached the automatic qualification mark of 64m for the Olympics, her selection seems a fait accompli given her current standing. In 2019 she had two throws over 55m, while in 2021 she exceeded 60m twice.

Now she is in another league. Her progress was driven by the biggest disappointment of her career, being controversially overlooked for the Tokyo Olympics. After meeting the international qualification mark, Peeters was named in the team, but the New Zealand Olympic Committee added a last-minute condition, requiring her to hit 62m at an Australian meet. She couldn’t – and despite an appeal by her team and a painful process – Peeters was excluded and then had to watch inferior athletes reach the final in Japan.

“Those scenarios that I have experienced just fuel the fire,” admits Peeters. “I don’t want to be trying to make teams by absolute tiny margins. I want to be asserting my place in teams hands down, no questions asked. That was fuel in the fire, where I thought I never want this to happen again.”

There have been numerous ingredients in the recipe. Experience has helped, along with more time in the gym and on the track. She has become bigger and stronger, while her pure “stubbornness and determination” have been a major factor. Most of all, she is learning to let go, knowing that javelin depends on a series of smooth cohesive actions, as much as underlying effort and strength.

“It’s a mental thing,” says Peeters. “In javelin often you want to grunt a throw and often those throws are the worst. You need to relax into the throw, it is a try-less mentality and it goes further. It’s learning how to access that.”

Peeters started to unlock that potential last year. It started in Yokohama – with her hurl of 63.26m – which secured an invite to her first Diamond League event in Poland where she finished third with a throw of 62.73m.

Tori Peeters in action at the 2023 Seiko Golden Grand Prix. Photo / Photosport

The only disappointment of 2023 was the World Championships in Budapest, where she missed the final by 7cm. That was “pretty devastating”, though an elbow problem, which meant she couldn’t train for 10 days leading into the event, provided some context.

Peeters bounced back quickly, with the Oregon performance three weeks later.

“I was bloody stoked about that,” says Peeters.

She is also enjoying the input of coach Kirsten Hellier, who she linked up with last May, after five years with Debbie Strange.

“I needed a bit of a change, a fresh set of eyes,” says Peeters. “It’s a different conversation, as an ex-javelin thrower, to talk about the feel of the throw.”

Peeters is confident her best is yet to come, pointing out that the top female throwers are 36 or 37 years old.

“I’m turning 30 this year and I can already throw 63m, these women have another six years on me of refining my craft.”

Peeters will be one of the main attractions at the Sir Graeme Douglas meet in West Auckland on Sunday, with a strong javelin field that includes three international athletes who have exceeded 62m.

“It will be good competition,” says Peeters.

Despite the intense focus of Olympic year, where she does up to 11 sessions a week, Peeters has to put some time aside for wedding planning, usually over a weekend coffee.

“We’ve done most of it already, which is quite good,” says Peeters. “It’s quite full on though and sometimes you need to park things for a bit.”

Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns.