Summer Olympics in Beijing. He won a gold medal in the Olympics where he set a new Olympic record with 90.57 metres. Thorkildsen dominated the competition, leading it from his first throw and making the two longest throws in the competition without using his last attempt. All of his 5 throws would have given a medal. Thorkildsen also won the javelin competition of the 2008 IAAF Golden League in Zürich on 29 August. 2009–2016 He became the first male javelin thrower in history to hold all three titles of European champion, World champion and Olympic champion, winning IAAF World Championship in Berlin with 89.59 m. Thorkildsen also had the season's leading throw, with 91.28 m achieved in Zürich on 28 August. He opened his 2010 season with a large throw of 90.37 metres at the Florö Track & Field Festival in May and went on to score a victory over Pitkämäki in their first match up in the 2010 IAAF Diamond League at the Bislett Games, finishing with a best throw of 86.00 m. On 31 July he defended his European title with a throw of 88.37, finishing ahead of second-placed Matthias de Zordo. De Zordo got his revenge next year when he won World Championship on 3 September at Daegu with Thorkildsen finishing second with a throw of 84.78. In 2012 Thorkildsen finished fourth at European Championships in Helsinki only managing three throws with the best result of 81.55 metres after picking up an injury during warm-up. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London he threw 82.63 and finished sixth which became fifth several years later after disqualification of the original silver medalist Oleksandr Pyatnytsya for doping offence. Next year's World Championships at Moscow brought Thorkildsen a sixth place with a throw of 81.06 in what turned out to be his last appearance at a major championship competition. Injuries forced him to bring his 2014 season to a premature end before the European Championships. He later decided to sit out the entire 2015 season but aimed at comeback in 2016. However, in May 2016 Thorkildsen announced his retirement from sports. Awards At the end of 2004 Thorkildsen was selected Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year by Norwegian sports journalists. In 2008 he was awarded the European Athlete of the Year trophy by the European Athletic Association, announced on 2 October 2008, and to be presented at the European Athletics Awards