Kenyan Julius Yego won the javelin gold medal at World Athletics Championships in Beijing – Despite having no coach for the majority of his career, and teaching himself using YouTube videos.
He won the competition with a throw of 92.72m, four metres further than the rest of the competitors.
Speaking in 2013 the self-taught athlete said:
My coach is me, and the YouTube videos. Everybody in Kenya is a runner.
I watched YouTube and it really paid off for me, to see the training techniques and skills they are using.
I do not have a coach, my motivation comes from within. Training without a coach is not an easy thing.
Recently, he has got himself a coach, but the majority of his knowledge comes from online.
He credits the instructional videos on YouTube for teaching him. Videos like this.
It’s a genuinely amazing story, and I hope there’s more like it in the near future.
I’ve always wanted to be a professional footballer. Luckily, these video’s are on YouTube to help me out.
Inspirational stuff.
