The world of sports often sees people transition from one sport to another, or play multiple sports throughout their life. But, the stories of a giant of one game transitioning into another always make huge waves. A similar thing happened back in 1996 after the very monolith of javelin throw decided to move to baseball.

Jan Zelezny is a former Czech javelin throw athlete known for ascending to the highest status in the sport. A rare video recently sprang back up on social media showcasing Zelezny trying to enter baseball. In fact, the video captured him giving a tryout just four days after winning an Olympic gold medal.

Javelin throw legend throws a baseball for Atlanta

Jan Zelezny has established himself above and beyond the sport of javelin throw. The Czech athlete holds the world record for the longest javelin throw at 98.48 meters. Interestingly, he also holds the record for the second, fifth, and ninth longest throw. An old footage of Zelezny giving a tryout for team Atlanta Braves has resurrected on social media once again. The video shows the Czech athlete pitching the ball for the $2.6 billion baseball team and registering some solid throws.

The video on Instagram carried the caption,??Take a look back at the time Jan ?elezn? had a tryout with the Atlanta Braves, just four days after winning the 1996 Olympics. It was rumored ?elezn? threw a softball over 400ft.??The 1996 Olympics were hosted in Atlanta, which allowed the Braves to directly call Zelezny for a tryout. Interestingly, the Atlanta Braves wanted to get him for a tryout for quite a long time. In fact, the 400 feet rumor played a central role in the team?s interest in Zelezny.

The rumor that resulted in a serious tryout

Jan Zelezny was on the watchlist of Atlanta Braves scouts for a long time. Some of their contacts in Prague had notified them about the javelin thrower?s arm strength. One of the conversations regarding Zelezny said that while his throwing speed was unknown, his furthest throw distance was 400 feet. This was a talent the Braves couldn?t miss, and they saw the proof of the javelin throw legend?s arm strength at the Olympics.

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While Zelezny did throw some solid pitches, he also confessed to the team that the 400-foot information was false. Instead, he had only ever thrown balls for his eight-year-old son. Speaking on why he appeared for the tryouts anyway, he said that he had already achieved everything in the javelin throw. Zelezny noted that he was a two-time Olympic and world gold medalist with five world records to his name. Thus, he wanted to try something new in his life. While Zelezny didn?t end up playing baseball, he surely gave fans a lighthearted moment to keep looking back to.

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