Zurich: Two-time Olympic medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finished runner-up in the Diamond League Finals for the third consecutive time as Julian Weber of Germany lifted his maiden trophy with two 90m-plus throws on Thursday.

Chopra was in third until the fifth round, with an opening throw of 84.35m, before his final effort of 85.01m moved him to second, overtaking 2012 London Olympics gold medallist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, who ended third with 84.95m.

Weber achieved a season world-leading throw of 91.57m, his personal best, in his second attempt. He began with 91.37m, and after that it was a one-man show in the seven-athlete field. None of his rivals came close, with his best effort over 6m more than Chopra's.

Chopra managed only three legal throws out of six, a rare instance for the 27-year-old Indian star known for 88m-plus throws. He had hoped to reclaim the trophy he won in 2022 but finished second again, after 2023 and 2024. Defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada was fourth with 82.06m.

Chopra said, "This was not too bad. We are getting very close to the World Championships, so I still need to throw a little further. In the last attempt, I still managed 85. I am very happy for Julian — he threw really far. Everything will be different in Tokyo during the World Championships. At major championships, the gold is more important than the far throws, so I will try my best to win the medal."

Weber's throw was also his third 90m-plus effort of the season and career. Chopra had breached 90m in Doha in May but finished second behind Weber. Chopra now heads to Tokyo for next month's World Championships as the defending champion.

With Thursday's title, Weber extended his head-to-head record against Chopra to 3-1 this season. Chopra leads Weber overall 15-5 since 2016. Chopra had not finished outside second place since June 2021.