| Athletics Hammer throw | |
|---|---|
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| World records | |
| Men |  Yuriy Sedykh 86.74 m (284 ft 6 in) (1986) |
| Women |  Anita Włodarczyk 82.98 m (272 ft 2 in) (2016) |
| Olympic records | |
| Men | Sergey Litvinov 84.80 m (278 ft 2 in) (1988) |
| Women | Anita Włodarczyk 82.29 m (269 ft 11 in) (2016) |
| World Championship records | |
| Men |  Ivan Tsikhan 83.63 m (274 ft 4 in) (2007) |
| Women | Anita Włodarczyk 80.85 m (265 ft 3 in) (2015) |
The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin.
The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consists of a metal ball attached by a steel wire to a grip. These three components are each separate and can move independently. Both the size and weight of the ball vary between men's and women's events. The women's hammer weighs 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) for college and professional meets while the men's hammer weighs 7.26 kilograms (16.0 lb).
History
The exact origins of the hammer throw are a mystery to modern historians. According to legend, at the Tailteann Games in Tara, Ireland, as far back as 2000 BC the Celtic warrior Culchulainn took a chariot axle with a wheel still attached and spun it around and hurled it. The wheel was later replaced by a rock with a wooden handle attached. A sledgehammer began to be used for the sport in Scotland and England during the Middle Ages. In current times, the hammer has changed to the more modern 7.26 kg ball attached to a wire and a handle, but the Scottish Highland Games still feature the older style of hammer throw with the rock and the solid wood handle.
While the men's hammer throw has been part of the Olympics since 1900, the International Association of Athletics Federations did not start ratifying women's marks until 1995. Women's hammer throw was first included in the Olympics at the 2000 summer games in Sydney, Australia, after having been included in the World Championships a year earlier.
Competition
The men's hammer weighs 7.26 kilograms (16.0 lb) and the women's weighs 4 kg (8.8 lb), with the wire in either case no more than 122 centimetres (48 in) in length. Like the other throwing events, the competition is decided by who can throw the implement the farthest.
The throwing motion starts with the thrower swinging the hammer back-and-forth about two times to generate momentum. The thrower then makes three, four or (rarely) five full rotations using a complex heel-toe foot movement, spinning the hammer in a circular path and increasing its angular velocity with each rotation. Rather than spinning the hammer horizontally, it is instead spun in a plane that angles up towards the direction in which it will be launched. The thrower releases the hammer as its velocity is upward and toward the target.
Throws are made from a throwing circle. The thrower is not allowed to step outside the throwing circle before the hammer has landed and may only enter and exit from the rear of the throwing circle. The hammer must land within a 34.92º throwing sector that is centered on the throwing circle. The sector angle was chosen because it provides a sector whose bounds are easy to measure and lay out on a field (10 metres out from the center of the ring, 6 metres across). A violation of the rules results in a foul and the throw not being counted.
As of 2023 the men's hammer world record is held by Yuriy Sedykh, who threw 86.74 m (284 ft 6+3⁄4 in) at the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart, West Germany on 30 August. The world record for the women's hammer is held by Anita Włodarczyk, who threw 82.98 m (272 ft 2+3⁄4 in) during the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial on 28 August 2016. Sedykh's 1986 world record has been noted for its longevity, and for dating from "a time when track and field was starting to realize the scale of performance-enhancing drug use" (AP). According to Russian doping whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, Sedykh was a heavy user of steroids, which Sedykh denied.
The throwing distance depends on the velocity and height at which the hammer is released, but also on other factors that are not under the athlete's control. In particular, Earth's rotation affects it via the location's latitude (due to the centrifugal force, the hammer will fly a bit further in a location closer to the equator) and to a lesser extent also via the throw's azimuth (i.e. its compass direction, due to Coriolis forces). According to a 2023 study, such effects are large enough that the top 20 world-record rankings for both men and women at the time could somewhat change if they were adjusted for latitude and azimuth.
Safety issues
Hammer throwing has been described as involving "inherent danger . Athletes, coaches, and spectators participating in the event are at risk; steel hammers are hurled through the air at great speeds, far distances, and sometimes difficult to spot in flight." For example, hammer throws resulted in four deaths in Europe in 2000 alone, and have caused deaths and permanent brain damage injuries in the United States too.
To mitigate such risks, a C-shaped "hammer cage" was introduced, which is built around the throwing circle, preventing the hammer from flying off in unwanted directions. In 2004, the IAAF changed its rules to increase the mandatory height of hammer cages to 10m and reduce their "danger zone" angle to around 53°. The change also moved the cage gates further away from the throwing circle, thus reducing the risk of a misdirected hammer bouncing back on the thrower.
All-time top 25
See also: Men's hammer throw world record progression and Women's hammer throw world record progression| Tables show data for two definitions of "Top 25" - the top 25 hammer throw marks and the top 25 athletes: |
| - denotes top performance for athletes in the top 25 hammer throw marks |
| - denotes lesser performances, still in the top 25 hammer throw marks, by repeat athletes |
| - denotes top performance (only) for other top 25 athletes who fall outside the top 25 hammer throw marks |
Men
- Correct as of April 2024.
| Ath.# | Perf.# | Mark | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 86.74 m (284 ft 6 in) | Yuriy Sedykh | Soviet Union |
30 August 1986 | Stuttgart | |
| 2 | 86.66 m (284 ft 3 in) | Sedykh #2 | 22 June 1986 | Tallinn | |||
| 3 | 86.34 m (283 ft 3 in) | Sedykh #3 | 3 July 1984 | Cork | |||
| 2 | 4 | 86.04 m (282 ft 3 in) | Sergey Litvinov | Soviet Union |
3 July 1986 | Dresden | |
| 5 | 85.74 m (281 ft 3 in) | Litvinov #2 | 30 August 1986 | Stuttgart | |||
| 6 | 85.68 m (281 ft 1 in) | Sedykh #4 | 11 August 1986 | Budapest | |||
| 7 | 85.60 m (280 ft 10 in) | Sedykh #5 | 13 July 1984 | London | |||
| Sedykh #6 | 17 August 1984 | Moscow | |||||
| 9 | 85.20 m (279 ft 6 in) | Litvinov #3 | 3 July 1984 | Cork | |||
| 10 | 85.14 m (279 ft 3 in) | Litvinov #4 | 11 July 1986 | London | |||
| Sedykh #7 | 4 September 1988 | Moscow | |||||
| 12 | 85.02 m (278 ft 11 in) | Sedykh #8 | 20 August 1984 | Budapest | |||
| 13 | 84.92 m (278 ft 7 in) | Sedykh #9 | 3 July 1986 | Dresden | |||
| 3 | 14 | 84.90 m (278 ft 6 in) | Vadim Devyatovskiy | Belarus |
21 July 2005 | Minsk | |
| 15 | 84.88 m (278 ft 5 in) | Litvinov #5 | 10 September 1986 | Rome | |||
| 4 | 16 | 84.86 m (278 ft 4 in) | Koji Murofushi |  Japan |
29 June 2003 | Prague | |
| 17 | 84.80 m (278 ft 2 in) | Litvinov #6 | 26 September 1988 | Seoul | |||
| 18 | 84.72 m (277 ft 11 in) | Sedykh #10 | 9 July 1986 | Moscow | |||
| 19 | 84.64 m (277 ft 8 in) | Litvinov #7 | 9 July 1986 | Moscow | |||
| 5 | 20 | 84.62 m (277 ft 7 in) | Igor Astapkovich |  Belarus |
6 June 1992 | Seville | |
| 21 | 84.60 m (277 ft 6 in) | Sedykh #11 | 14 September 1984 | Tokyo | |||
| 22 | 84.58 m (277 ft 5 in) | Sedykh #12 | 8 June 1986 | Leningrad | |||
| 6 | 23 | 84.51 m (277 ft 3 in) | Ivan Tsikhan | Belarus |
9 July 2008 | Grodno | |
| 7 | 24 | 84.48 m (277 ft 1 in) | Igor Nikulin | Soviet Union |
12 July 1990 | Lausanne | |
| 25 | 84.46 m (277 ft 1 in) | Sedykh #13 | 14 September 1988 | Vladivostok | |||
| Tsikhan #2 | 7 May 2004 | Minsk | |||||
| 8 | 84.40 m (276 ft 10 in) | Jüri Tamm | Soviet Union
|
9 September 1984 | Banská Bystrica | ||
| 9 | 84.38 m (276 ft 10 in) | Ethan Katzberg |  Canada
|
20 April 2024 | Nairobi | ||
| 10 | 84.19 m (276 ft 2 in) | Adrián Annus |  Hungary
|
10 August 2003 | Szombathely | ||
| 11 | 83.93 m (275 ft 4 in) | Paweł Fajdek | Poland
|
9 August 2015 | Szczecin | ||
| 12 | 83.68 m (274 ft 6 in) | Tibor Gécsek | Hungary
|
19 September 1998 | Zalaegerszeg | ||
| 13 | 83.46 m (273 ft 9 in) | Andrey Abduvaliyev | Soviet Union
|
26 May 1990 | Adler | ||
| 14 | 83.43 m (273 ft 8 in) | Aleksey Zagornyi |  Russia
|
10 February 2002 | Adler | ||
| 15 | 83.40 m (273 ft 7 in) | Ralf Haber |  East Germany
|
16 May 1988 | Athens | ||
| 16 | 83.38 m (273 ft 6 in) | Szymon Ziółkowski | Poland
|
5 August 2001 | Edmonton | ||
| 17 | 83.30 m (273 ft 3 in) | Olli-Pekka Karjalainen |  Finland
|
14 July 2004 | Lahti | ||
| 18 | 83.04 m (272 ft 5 in) | Heinz Weis |  Germany
|
29 June 1997 | Frankfurt | ||
| 19 | 83.00 m (272 ft 3 in) | Balázs Kiss | Hungary
|
4 June 1998 | Saint-Denis | ||
| 20 | 82.78 m (271 ft 7 in) | Karsten Kobs | Germany
|
26 June 1999 | Dortmund | ||
| 21 | 82.71 m (271 ft 4 in) | Rudy Winkler |  United States
|
20 June 2021 | Eugene | ||
| 22 | 82.69 m (271 ft 3 in) | Krisztián Pars | Hungary
|
16 August 2014 | Zürich | ||
| 23 | 82.64 m (271 ft 1 in) | Günther Rodehau | East Germany
|
3 August 1985 | Dresden | ||
| 24 | 82.62 m (271 ft 0 in) | Sergey Kirmasov | Russia
|
30 May 1998 | Bryansk | ||
| Andriy Skvaruk |  Ukraine
|
27 April 2002 | Kyiv |
Annulled marks
- Ivan Tsikhan of Belarus also threw 86.73 in Brest on 3 July 2005. This performance was annulled due to doping offences.
Women
- Correct as of May 2024.
| Ath.# | Perf.# | Mark | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 82.98 m (272 ft 2 in) | Anita Włodarczyk | Poland |
28 August 2016 | Warsaw | |
| 2 | 82.87 m (271 ft 10 in) | Włodarczyk #2 | 29 July 2017 | Władysławowo | |||
| 3 | 82.29 m (269 ft 11 in) | Włodarczyk #3 | 15 August 2016 | Rio de Janeiro | |||
| 4 | 81.08 m (266 ft 0 in) | Włodarczyk #4 | 1 August 2015 | Władysławowo | |||
| 5 | 80.85 m (265 ft 3 in) | Włodarczyk #5 | 27 August 2015 | Beijing | |||
| 6 | 80.79 m (265 ft 0 in) | Włodarczyk #6 | 23 July 2017 | Białystok | |||
| 2 | 7 | 80.31 m (263 ft 5 in) | DeAnna Price | United States |
26 June 2021 | Eugene | |
| 8 | 80.26 m (263 ft 3 in) | Włodarczyk #7 | 12 July 2016 | Władysławowo | |||
| 3 | 9 | 80.16 m (262 ft 11 in) | Brooke Andersen | United States |
20 May 2023 | Tucson | |
| 10 | 79.92 m (262 ft 2 in) | Andersen #2 | 4 May 2024 | Tucson | |||
| 11 | 79.80 m (261 ft 9 in) | Włodarczyk #8 | 15 August 2017 | Warsaw | |||
| Andersen #3 | 20 April 2023 | Charlottesville | |||||
| 13 | 79.73 m (261 ft 6 in) | Włodarczyk #9 | 6 May 2017 | Doha | |||
| 14 | 79.72 m (261 ft 6 in) | Włodarczyk #10 | 27 June 2017 | Ostrava | |||
| 15 | 79.61 m (261 ft 2 in) | Włodarczyk #11 | 18 June 2016 | Szczecin | |||
| 16 | 79.59 m (261 ft 1 in) | Włodarczyk #12 | 22 July 2018 | Lublin | |||
| 17 | 79.58 m (261 ft 1 in) | Włodarczyk #13 | 31 August 2014 | Berlin | |||
| 18 | 79.48 m (260 ft 9 in) | Włodarczyk #14 | 21 May 2016 | Halle | |||
| 19 | 79.45 m (260 ft 7 in) | Włodarczyk #15 | 29 May 2016 | Forbach | |||
| 4 | 20 | 79.42 m (260 ft 6 in) | Betty Heidler | Germany |
21 May 2011 | Halle | |
| 21 | 79.02 m (259 ft 3 in) | Andersen #4 | 30 April 2022 | Tucson | |||
| 22 | 78.96 m (259 ft 0 in) | Andersen #5 | 17 July 2022 | Eugene | |||
| 23 | 78.94 m (258 ft 11 in) | Włodarczyk #16 | 12 August 2018 | Berlin | |||
| 24 | 78.79 m (258 ft 5 in) | Andersen #6 | 6 June 2023 | Bydgoszcz | |||
| 25 | 78.76 m (258 ft 4 in) | Włodarczyk #17 | 15 August 2014 | Zürich | |||
| 5 | 78.62 m (257 ft 11 in) | Camryn Rogers | Canada
|
26 May 2023 | Westwood | ||
| 6 | 78.51 m (257 ft 6 in) | Tatyana Lysenko | Russia |
5 July 2012 | Cheboksary | ||
| 7 | 78.00 m (255 ft 10 in) | Janee' Kassanavoid | United States
|
21 May 2022 | Tucson | ||
| 8 | 77.78 m (255 ft 2 in) | Gwen Berry | United States
|
8 June 2018 | Chorzów | ||
| 9 | 77.68 m (254 ft 10 in) | Wang Zheng |  China
|
29 March 2014 | Chengdu | ||
| 10 | 77.33 m (253 ft 8 in) | Zhang Wenxiu | China
|
28 September 2014 | Incheon | ||
| 11 | 77.32 m (253 ft 8 in) | Aksana Miankova | Belarus
|
29 June 2008 | Minsk | ||
| 12 | 77.26 m (253 ft 5 in) | Gulfiya Agafonova | Russia
|
12 June 2006 | Tula | ||
| 13 | 77.13 m (253 ft 0 in) | Oksana Kondratyeva | Russia
|
30 June 2013 | Zhukovskiy | ||
| 14 | 77.10 m (252 ft 11 in) | Hanna Skydan |  Azerbaijan
|
23 August 2023 | Budapest | ||
| 15 | 76.90 m (252 ft 3 in) | Martina Hrašnová |  Slovakia
|
16 May 2009 | Trnava | ||
| 16 | 76.85 m (252 ft 1 in) | Malwina Kopron | Poland
|
26 August 2017 | Taipei City | ||
| 17 | 76.83 m (252 ft 0 in) | Kamila Skolimowska | Poland
|
11 May 2007 | Doha | ||
| 18 | 76.72 m (251 ft 8 in) | Mariya Bespalova | Russia
|
23 June 2012 | Zhukovsky | ||
| 19 | 76.66 m (251 ft 6 in) | Volha Tsander | Belarus
|
21 July 2005 | Minsk | ||
| 20 | 76.63 m (251 ft 4 in) | Yekaterina Khoroshikh | Russia
|
24 June 2006 | Zhukovsky | ||
| 21 | 76.62 m (251 ft 4 in) | Yipsi Moreno |  Cuba
|
9 September 2008 | Zagreb | ||
| 22 | 76.56 m (251 ft 2 in) | Alena Matoshka | Belarus
|
12 June 2012 | Minsk | ||
| 23 | 76.35 m (250 ft 5 in) | Joanna Fiodorow | Poland
|
28 September 2019 | Doha | ||
| 24 | 76.33 m (250 ft 5 in) | Darya Pchelnik | Belarus
|
29 June 2008 | Minsk | ||
| 25 | 76.26 m (250 ft 2 in) | Hanna Malyshik | Belarus
|
27 April 2018 | Brest |
Annulled marks
The following athletes had their performances (over 77.00 m) annulled due to doping offences:
- Tatyana Lysenko (Russia) 78.80 (2013) and 78.15 (2013).
- Aksana Miankova (Belarus) 78.69 and 78.19 (both 2012).
- Gulfiya Agafonova (Russia) 77.36 (2007).
Olympic medalists
Men
Women
World Championships medalists
Men
Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poland (POL) | 7 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
| 2 | Soviet Union (URS) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Belarus (BLR) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Germany (GER) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 |  Tajikistan (TJK) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Japan (JPN) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
 Slovenia (SLO) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 8 | Canada (CAN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 10 | Ukraine (UKR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 |  France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – |  Authorised Neutral Athletes (ANA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Russia (RUS) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 13 |  Czech Republic (CZE) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| East Germany (GDR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Finland (FIN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Norway (NOR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Slovakia (SVK) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (17 entries) | 19 | 19 | 20 | 58 | |
Women
Season's bests
Men
|
Women
|
See also
Notes and references
- Hammer Throw Facts World Athletics
- ^ "Hammer Throw". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- "Hammer Throw". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- Johannsen, Dana (1 August 2021). "Tokyo 2020: Why the Olympic hammer throw may become a new national obsession". Stuff. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- "Hammer Throw". World Athletics.
- "Laying Out Sector Angles for the Track and Field Throwing Events" (PDF). USA Track & Field Pacific Northwest. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
The shot, discus, hammer & weight throw sector is 34.92º. This angle was chosen due to its simple geometry.
- ^ "Yuriy Sedykh, hammer world record holder, dies at 66". AP News. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ Horváth, Gábor; Hegedűs, Dénes; Slíz-Balogh, Judit (27 June 2023). "Change of world-record rankings of shot put and hammer throw due to the effects of Earth rotation and athlete's height". Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 10409. Bibcode:2023NatSR..1310409H. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-36665-5. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 10300113. PMID 37369722. S2CID 259273858.
- ^ Academy, U. S. Sports (9 July 2010). "An Analysis of Hammer Throw Facility Safety Factors in NCAA Division I". The Sport Journal. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- "Catastrophic Injuries Pull Focus On Field Event Safety". Athletic Business. 29 December 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- Laruel, Benoit; Wilson, Denis; Young, Ray (2004). "Hammer throw safety cages". New Studies in Athletics. 19 (1): 47–51.
- "All-time men's best hammer throw". IAAF. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- "Kip Keino Classic 2024 – Men's Hammer Throw Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- Phil Minshull (9 August 2015). "Fajdek throws 83.93m in Szczecin". IAAF. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- Roy Jordan (21 June 2021). "Bromell back to his best while Felix and Winkler make history in Eugene". World Athletics. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- "All-time women's best hammer throw". World Athletics. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- "Wlodarczyk extends hammer world record in Warsaw". IAAF. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
- Roy Jordan (27 June 2021). "Holloway, Thomas, Benjamin and Price shine on superb day in Eugene". World Athletics. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- 2023 USATF Throws Fest - Womens Hammer Throw - results
- "Hammer Throw Result". trackscoreboard.com. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- "Hammer Throw Result" (PDF). Flash Results. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- "World U20 sprint records fall as Knighton runs 19.49 and Tebogo clocks 9.96". World Athletics. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- "Women's Hammer Throw Results" (PDF). World Athletics. 17 July 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- "Hammer Throw Results" (PDF). szewinska.domtel-sport.pl. 6 June 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- Madeline Ryan (27 May 2023). "Crouser breaks world shot put record with 23.56m in Los Angeles". World Athletics. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- "Kassanavoid climbs to No.6 all time with 78.00m hammer throw". World Athetlics. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- Jon Mulkeen (8 June 2018). "Berry and Nowicki topple hammer favourites in Chorzow". IAAF. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
- "Hammer Throw Qualification Results". World Athletics. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- "Women's Hammer Final Results" (PDF). 2017.taipei. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- "Hammer Throw Results" (PDF). IAAF. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ 2004 Olympic Hammer Throw Medalists. Olympics.com. Retrieved on 2024-04-13.
- ^ Engeler, Elaine (10 June 2010). "CAS Reinstates Medals for Hammer Throwers". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
External links
- IAAF list of hammer-throw records in XML
- HammerThrow.org (information about the event, coaching tips and resources)
- Statistics
- Hammer Throw History (archived)
- World Athletics Hammer Throw
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