Kenya's javelin legend Julius Yego threw a season-best 80.59m but finished fifth at the Rabat Diamond League meeting on Sunday at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Morocco.
The competition was Yego's third event of the 2026 season and his first appearance on the Diamond League circuit this year.
Despite missing out on a podium finish, his fifth-place result earned him prize money of $2,500 (approximately Sh323,000).
The performance comes just weeks after he won the African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra, Ghana, on May 17 with a throw of 79.87m, matching the distance he registered during his season opener at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi in April.
"I have to keep pushing for my personal best throws. Even though, at the global stage, it still might not be enough, I have to keep working hard as I aim for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the World Championships in Beijing next year," Yego said earlier in Accra.
Grenada's Anderson Peters won the event with a throw of 86.08m, while Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage finished second with 85.97m. Trinidad and Tobago's Keshorn Walcott completed the podium with a throw of 82.52m.
Germany's Thomas Röhler was fourth with 81.61m, while Yego finished fifth on 80.59m. American Curtis Thompson placed sixth with 77.88m, ahead of Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch, who threw 77.75m for seventh place. Poland's Dawid Wegner finished eighth with a throw of 71.18m.
With the Rabat assignment now behind him, Yego is turning his focus to the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow later this year. The former world champion is aiming to improve his distances and challenge for a long-awaited global medal.