Norwegian javelin star Andreas Thorkildsen proved unbeatable once again.

Occasionally he gives his rivals the occasional look in, but when Andreas Thorkildsen is in the mood, he is quite simply untouchable. Germany's Matthias De Zordo tried to breach the ramparts tonight, but the Norwegian was having none of it and swatted away all attempts to put him under pressure to successfully defend his title.

De Zordo was rewarded for his efforts with silver and a personal best of 87.81.

Bronze went to the Norwegian's eternal rival, Tero Pitkämäki. They have been competing against each other since their junior days, when the Finn had the upper hand. But he last turned the tables on Thorkildsen in a major event at the 2007 world championships. Since then, he has had to watch as his Nordic rival became the first man to hold European, world and Olympic titles simultaneously. Not even Jan Zelezny achieved that.

“It was a really tough and exciting competition,” admitted Thorkildsen. “The rivals are very strong which is crucial if you want to achieve top results. I'm glad that I responded well to De Zordo.”

“I never dreamt I would perform like that,” said De Zordo. “It was not that easy to deal with the wind. Anyway, I thought, run like hell and let the thing fly. I hoped to impress Andreas with my first throw, as I did in Bergen, but he responded very well so I knew today I had to take him into account.”

For his part, Pitkämäki admitted, “it was a tough season for me. I was surprised by the massive throw by the German. But I will be back next year. My goal is to win the world champs.”

As he did in Bergen, in the European team championships, De Zordo went for a long one in the first round, the implement hitting the turf at 86.22, his first personal best of the evening. His previous best coming into Barcelona had been 84.38 and he may have wondered how the Norwegian would respond.

After dozing his way through qualification, when he could not even reach 80m, De Zordo's throw gave Thorkildsen an alarm call. Throwing third from last the Norwegian had time to think about it and evidently that was all that was required.

Jogging up to the line in his usual relaxed fashion he released the spear, gave a small gesture of pleasure and he was in the lead. But at 86.32 it was a slender one of only 10cm. It was lead, but it was not going to be enough.

Going last, it was the Finn's turn, and his 81.47 was enough for third, but he was going to have to throw much better if he wanted to challenge for the lead.

For his second throw, De Zordo decided on a counter punch. Once again it was a personal best, this time 87.81. He was back in the gold medal position. This was real pressure.

But Thorkildsen's jokey, relaxed demeanour cloaks a killer instinct. Jogging to the line, he unleashed his spear. As it rose into the night sky, a roar rolled around the stadium and the javelin came down at 88.37. Raising a nonchalant arm, he turned away, knowing that he was back in front.

De Zordo tried all he could for his third attempt, but it was just not enough, falling short of his new best. But it was still an excellent throw, his third longest ever.

And that was to be that for gold and silver, neither man improving in subsequent rounds.

Pitkamaki fouled his second, but added almost another metre for his third and added another increment for the fourth. But he only really came alive in the fifth. He put everything into this one, hurling himself to the track, the impetus twisting his body into a roll just stopping short of the line. It was a fine effort of 86.67, but it was to be his final shot. 86.31 in the last round would not improve his position.

Once again it was time for Thorkildsen to raise his arms in triumph and take the accolades of the Norwegian fans. Simply the best.