The next year saw him step up to the very upper echelon of javelin throwers with his new personal best (and national record) of 86.33 meters, thrown in Helsinki on 16 July 1963.

He cleared the Olympic qualification quite easily while the world record holder, Terje Pedersen of Norway, was knocked out – the first man not to qualify.

[3] In 1969 Nevala's career had a major resurgence, as he finally broke his six-year-old personal best multiple times, culminating in a 91.40 m throw in his home town of Teuva.

In addition to the world's best performance of the year, Nevala was ranked number one javelin thrower by Track & Field News.

[6] Nevala's career suddenly ended in April 1971 when, in his very first competition of the year at Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, he injured his shoulder so badly he could never throw seriously again.