Which athlete became the first to break the 90-metre barrier in the men's javelin?

Steve Backley became the first athlete to break the 90-metre barrier in the men’s javelin, throwing 90.98 metres in 1990.

The British thrower achieved the mark at a meeting in Stockholm on 25 August 1990. Breaking 90 metres was a major landmark because the distance had long been viewed as a symbolic threshold for elite javelin throwers.

Backley won Olympic bronze at Barcelona 1992 and silver at Atlanta 1996. He also won the European Championships in 1990, 1994 and 1998, establishing himself as one of Britain’s leading field athletes.

His milestone occurred with the pre-1986 men’s javelin design. After the equipment was redesigned and the centre of gravity moved forward, throwers again had to establish new records under the revised specification, so older marks are kept in a separate historical category.