Keshorn Walcott produced the second best throw of the men's javelin competition, but had to settle for bronze at the British Muller Grand Prix Wanda Diamond League meet in chilly Gateshead, England, yesterday.

After five rounds of throwing, Walcott was in the lead with his 82.81 metres third round effort. However, with the "Final 3" Diamond League format in operation, only his sixth throw would count in determining podium position.

Walcott could only manage a 76.74m effort, and the Trinidad and Tobago athlete slipped to third. Julian Weber's best throw on the day was 81.07m.

In the "Final 3", however, the German landed the spear 77.16m - good enough for silver under the controversial format. Another German, Johannes Vetter was golden with his 85.25m "Final 3" fling.

Walcott, who is preparing for the July 23 to August 8 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, has been in fine form in Europe. On June 26, the 2012 Olympic champion threw a season's best 89.12m. He followed up three days later with an 85.16 effort in Switzerland.

The 2016 Olympic Games bronze medallist would have been hoping to again go past the 85-metre mark in yesterday's competition. Conditions, though, were not ideal.

"It was a really difficult competition," Vetter explained, "and I'm really disappointed as conditions were not good at all. The surface was really slippery and the conditions were really unprofessional."

At the Broward Elite Meet in Florida, USA, last Friday, Renny Quow won the men's 400 metres event. The T&T quarter-miler completed his lap of the track in 47.68 seconds.