Hammer Throw at the Olympics
The Hammer throw is one of the four throwing events contested as a part of the track and field discipline in the Olympics. The men's event has been a part of the games since the second modern Olympics in 1900. The women's event however was added to the Olympics only recently at the 2000 Sydney Games.
hammer thrower in trainingHistorically, the event was closely contested by the United States, the ex-Soviet Union and Hungary. But of late, the event has been unpredictable, and the gold medal in the last five games was won by athletes from 5 different countries.
John Flanagan of the United States is the most notable athlete in the men's event who has three gold medals to his name. Yuriy Sedykh of the ex-Soviet Union and Pat O'Callaghan of Ireland are the other two men to have won the gold medal twice. In the women's event, Russia has taken the lead so far winning the gold in two of the four Olympics.
As of March 2016, the current Olympic record of 84.80m for the men's event is held by Sergey Litvinov of the ex-Soviet Union, which was set during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. For the women's event, the record is 78.18m set by Tatyana Lysenko of Russia during the 2012 London Games.
Trivia
- In 1956, the gold medal winning hammer thrower from America, Hal Connolly, won despite a physical disability - his left arm was inches shorter and much less developed that his right.
Related Pages
- About Track and Field at the Olympics
- A similar event, the 56 Pound Toss Event was held at the in 1904 and 1920 Olympic Games
- See more on the Greatest T&F Athletes at the Olympics.
- List of Olympic Sports
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