Javelin throw

 

The javelin throw was added to the Ancient Olympic Games as part of the pentathlon in 708 BC.^[1] It included two events, one for distance and the other for accuracy in hitting a target. The javelin was thrown with the aid of a thong (ankyle in Greek) that was wound around the middle of the shaft. Athletes held the javelin by the ankyle, a leather strap around the shaft, so when they released the javelin, the unwinding of the thong gave the javelin a spiral trajectory.^[2]

Throwing javelin-like poles into targets was revived in Germany and Sweden in the early 1870s. In Sweden, these poles developed into the modern javelin, and throwing them for distance became a common event there and in Finland in the 1880s. The rules continued to evolve over the next decades; originally, javelins were thrown with no run-up, and holding them by the grip at the center of gravity was not always mandatory. Limited run-ups were introduced in the late 1890s, and soon developed into the modern unlimited run-up.^{[3]: 435–436}

Sweden's Eric Lemming, who threw his first world best (49.32 metres) in 1899 and ruled the event from 1902 to 1912, was the first dominant javelin thrower.^{[3]: 436, 441 [4]: 478} When the men's javelin was introduced as an Olympic discipline at the 1906 Intercalated Games, Lemming won by almost nine metres and broke his own world record; Sweden swept the first four places, as Finland's best throwers were absent and the event had yet to become popular in any other country.^[3]: 437 Though challenged by younger talents, Lemming repeated as Olympic champion in 1908 and 1912; his eventual best mark (62.32 m, thrown after the 1912 Olympics) was the first javelin world record to be officially ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations.^{[3]: 436–441 [5]}

 

In the late 19th and early 20th century, most javelin competitions were two-handed; the implement was thrown with the right hand and separately with the left hand, and the best marks for each hand were added together. Competitions for the better hand only were less common, though not unknown.^[4] At the Olympics, a both-hands contest was held only once, in 1912; Finland swept the medals, ahead of Lemming.^[3]: 441 After that, this version of the javelin rapidly faded into obscurity, together with similar variations of the shot and the discus; Sweden's Yngve Häckner, with his total of 114.28 m from 1917, was the last official both-hands world record holder.^[6]

Another early variant was the freestyle javelin, in which holding the javelin by the grip at the center of gravity was not mandatory; such a freestyle competition was held at the 1908 Olympics, but it was dropped from the program after that.^[4]: 478 Hungary's Mór Kóczán used a freestyle end grip to break the 60-metre barrier in 1911, a year before Lemming and Julius Saaristo first did so with a regular grip.^{[3]: 440 [7]: 214}

The first known women's javelin marks were recorded in Finland in 1909.^[8] Originally, women threw the same implement as men; a lighter, shorter javelin for women was introduced in the 1920s. Women's javelin throw was added to the Olympic program in 1932; Mildred "Babe" Didrikson of the United States became the first champion.^[4]: 479

For a long time, javelins were made of solid wood, typically birch, with a steel tip. The hollow, highly aerodynamic Held javelin, invented by American thrower Bud Held and developed and manufactured by his brother Dick, was introduced in the 1950s; the first Held javelins were also wooden with steel tips, but later models were made entirely of metal.^{[4]: 478–479 [8][9]} These new javelins flew further, but were also less likely to land neatly point first; as a response to the increasingly frequent flat or ambiguously flat landings, experiments with modified javelins started in the early 1980s. The resulting designs, which made flat landings much less common and reduced the distances thrown, became official for men starting in April 1986 and for women in April 1999, and the world records (then 104.80 m by Uwe Hohn, and 80.00 m by Petra Felke) were reset.^[10] The current (as of 2017^[update]) men's world record is held by Jan Železný at 98.48 m (1996); Barbora Špotáková holds the women's world record at 72.28 m (2008).

Of the 69 Olympic medals that have been awarded in the men's javelin, 32 have gone to competitors from Norway, Sweden or Finland. Finland is the only nation to have swept the medals at a currently recognized official Olympics, and has done so twice, in 1920 and 1932, in addition to its 1912 sweep in the two-handed javelin; in 1920 Finland swept the first four places, which is no longer possible as only three entrants per country are allowed. Finland has, however, never been nearly as successful in the women's javelin.^[4]: 479

The javelin throw has been part of the decathlon since the decathlon was introduced in the early 1910s; the all-around, an earlier ten-event contest of American origin, did not include the javelin throw. The javelin was also part of some (though not all) of the many early forms of women's pentathlon and has always been included in the heptathlon after it replaced the pentathlon in 1981.^[11]

The size, shape, minimum weight, and center of gravity of the javelin are all defined by World Athletics rules. In international competition, men throw a javelin between 2.6 and 2.7 m (8 ft 6 in and 8 ft 10 in) in length and 800 g (28 oz) in weight, and women throw a javelin between 2.2 and 2.3 m (7 ft 3 in and 7 ft 7 in) in length and 600 g (21 oz) in weight. The javelin has a grip, about 150 mm (5.9 in) wide, made of cord and located at the javelin's center of gravity (0.9 to 1.06 m (2 ft 11 in to 3 ft 6 in)) from the javelin tip for the men's javelin and 0.8 to 0.92 m (2 ft 7 in to 3 ft 0 in) from the javelin tip for the women's javelin.

 

Unlike the other throwing events (shot put, discus, and hammer), the technique used to throw the javelin is dictated by World Athletics rules and "non-orthodox" techniques are not permitted. The javelin must be held at its grip and thrown overhand, over the athlete's shoulder or upper arm. Further, the athlete is prohibited from turning completely around or starting with their back facing the direction of the throw. This prevents athletes from attempting to spin and hurl the javelin sidearm in the style of a discus throw. This rule was put in place when a group of athletes began experimenting with a spin technique referred to as "free style". On 24 October 1956, Pentti Saarikoski threw 99.52 m (326 ft 6 in)^[12] using the technique holding the end of the javelin. Officials were so afraid of the out of control nature of the technique that the practice was banned through these rule specifications.

Instead of being confined to a circle, javelin throwers have a runway 4 m (13 ft) wide and at least 30 m (98 ft) in length, ending in an 8 m (26 ft) radius throwing arc from which their throw is measured; athletes typically use this distance to gain momentum in a "run-up" to their throw. Like the other throwing events, the competitor may not leave the throwing area (the runway) until after the implement lands. The need to come to a stop behind the throwing arc limits both how close the athlete can come to the line before the release as well as the maximum speed achieved at the time of release.

The javelin is thrown towards a 28.96º circular sector that is centered on the center point of the throwing arc. The angle of the throwing sector (28.96º) provides sector boundaries that are easy to construct and lay out on a field.^[13] A throw is only legal if the tip of the javelin lands within this sector and first strikes the ground before any other part of the javelin.^[14] The distance of the throw is measured from the throwing arc to the point where the tip of the javelin landed, rounded down to the nearest centimetre.

Competition rules are similar to other throwing events: a round consists of one attempt by each competitor in turn, and competitions typically consist of three to six rounds. The competitor with the longest single legal throw (over all rounds) is the winner; in case of a tie, the competitors' second-longest throws are also considered. Competitions involving large numbers of athletes sometimes use a cut whereby all competitors compete in the first three rounds but only those who are currently among the top eight or have achieved some minimum distances are permitted to attempt to improve on their distance in additional rounds (typically three).

The javelin is almost always thrown outdoors, though it is rarely thrown indoors. The world record for men's indoor javelin throw is 85.78 metres by Matti Närhi in 1996.^[15]

 

On 1 April 1986, the men's javelin (800 grams (1.76 lb)) was redesigned by the governing body (the IAAF Technical Committee). They decided to change the rules for javelin design because of the increasingly frequent flat landings and the resulting discussions and protests when these attempts were declared valid or invalid by competition judges. The world record had also crept up to a potentially dangerous level, 104.80 m (343.8 ft) by Uwe Hohn. With throws exceeding 100 metres, it was becoming difficult to safely stage the competition within the confines of a stadium infield. The javelin was redesigned so that the centre of gravity was moved 4 cm (1.6 in) forward. In addition, the surface area in front of centre of gravity was reduced, while the surface area behind the centre of gravity was increased. This had an effect similar to that produced by the feathers on an arrow. The javelin turns into the relative wind. This relative wind appears to originate from the ground as the javelin descends, thus the javelin turns to face the ground. As the javelin turns into the wind less lift is generated, reducing the flight distance by around 10% but also causing the javelin to stick in the ground more consistently. In 1999, the women's javelin (600 grams (1.32 lb)) was similarly redesigned.^[16]

Modifications that manufacturers made to recover some of the lost distance, by increasing tail drag (using holes, rough paint or dimples), were forbidden at the end of 1991 and performances made using implements with such modifications removed from the record books. Seppo Räty had achieved a world record of 96.96 m (318.1 ft) in 1991 with such a design, but this record was nullified.

The weight of the javelin in the Under-20 category is the same as the senior level.^[17]

Unlike other throwing events, javelin allows the competitor to build speed over a considerable distance. In addition, the core and upper body strength is necessary to deliver the implement, javelin throwers benefit from the agility and athleticism typically associated with running and jumping events. Thus, the athletes share more physical characteristics with sprinters than with others, although they still need the skill of heavier throwing athletes.

Traditional free-weight training is often used by javelin throwers. Metal-rod exercises and resistance band exercises can be used to train a similar action to the javelin throw to increase power and intensity. Without proper strength and flexibility, throwers can become extremely injury prone, especially in the shoulder and elbow. Core stability can help in the transference of physical power and force from the ground through the body to the javelin. Stretching and sprint training are used to enhance the speed of the athlete at the point of release, and subsequently, the speed of the javelin. At release, a javelin can reach speeds approaching 113 km/h (70 mph).

The javelin throw consists of three separate phases: the run-up, the transition, and the delivery. During each phase, the position of the javelin changes while the thrower changes his or her muscle recruitment. In the run-up phase as Luann Voza states, "your arm is bent and kept close to your head, keeping the javelin in alignment with little to no arm movement".^[18] This allows the thrower's bicep to contract, flexing the elbow. In order for the javelin to stay up high, the thrower's deltoid flexes. In the transition phase, the thrower's "back muscles contract" as "the javelin is brought back in alignment with the shoulder with the thrower's palm up".^[18] This, according to Voza, "stretches your pectoral, or chest, muscles. From there, a stretch reflex, an involuntary contraction of your chest, helps bring your throwing arm forward with increased force".^[18] During the final phase, the rotation of the shoulders initiates the release, which then "transfers movement through the triceps muscles, wrists and fingers to extend the throwing arm forward to release the javelin".^[18]

 

In 1994, Michael Torke composed Javelin, commissioned by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in celebration of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's 50th anniversary season, in conjunction with the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Javelin throwers have been selected as a main motif in numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the €5 Finnish 10th IAAF World Championships in Athletics commemorative coin, minted in 2005 to commemorate the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. On the obverse of the coin, a javelin thrower is depicted. On the reverse, legs of hurdle runners with the Helsinki Olympic Stadium tower in the background can be seen.

• Correct as of August 2024.^[19][20]

Ath.#	Perf.#	Mark	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	98.48 m (323 ft 1 in)	Jan Železný	Czech Republic	25 May 1996	Jena
2	2	97.76 m (320 ft 8 in)	Johannes Vetter	Germany	6 September 2020	Chorzów	[21]
	3	96.29 m (315 ft 10 in)	Vetter #2		29 May 2021	Chorzów
	4	95.66 m (313 ft 10 in)	Železný #2		29 August 1993	Sheffield
	5	95.54 m (313 ft 5 in) A	Železný #3		6 April 1993	Pietersburg
	6	94.64 m (310 ft 5 in)	Železný #4		31 May 1996	Ostrava
	7	94.44 m (309 ft 10 in)	Vetter #3		11 July 2017	Luzern
	8	94.20 m (309 ft 0 in)	Vetter #4		19 May 2021	Ostrava
	9	94.02 m (308 ft 5 in)	Železný #5		26 March 1997	Stellenbosch
3	10	93.90 m (308 ft 0 in)	Thomas Röhler	Germany	5 May 2017	Doha	[22]
	11	93.88 m (308 ft 0 in)	Vetter #5		18 August 2017	Thum
	12	93.59 m (307 ft 0 in)	Vetter #6		26 June 2021	Kuortane
	13	93.20 m (305 ft 9 in)	Vetter #7		21 May 2021	Dessau
4	14	93.09 m (305 ft 4 in)	Aki Parviainen	Finland	26 June 1999	Kuortane
5	15	93.07 m (305 ft 4 in)	Anderson Peters	Grenada	13 May 2022	Doha	[23]
6	16	92.97 m (305 ft 0 in)	Arshad Nadeem	Pakistan	8 August 2024	Saint-Denis	[24]
	17	92.80 m (304 ft 5 in)	Železný #6		12 August 2001	Edmonton
7	18	92.72 m (304 ft 2 in)	Julius Yego	Kenya	26 August 2015	Beijing	[25]
	19	92.70 m (304 ft 1 in)	Vetter #8		11 March 2018	Leiria
8	20	92.61 m (303 ft 10 in)	Sergey Makarov	Russia	30 June 2002	Sheffield
9	21	92.60 m (303 ft 9 in)	Raymond Hecht	Germany	14 August 1996	Zürich
	22	92.42 m (303 ft 2 in)	Železný #7		28 May 1997	Ostrava
	23	92.41 m (303 ft 2 in)	Parviainen #2		24 June 2001	Vaasa
	24	92.28 m (302 ft 9 in)	Železný #8		9 September 1995	Monaco
			Hecht #2		14 August 1996	Zürich
10		92.06 m (302 ft 0 in)	Andreas Hofmann	Germany	2 June 2018	Offenburg	[26]
11		91.69 m (300 ft 9 in)	Konstadinós Gatsioúdis	Greece	24 June 2000	Kuortane
12		91.59 m (300 ft 5 in)	Andreas Thorkildsen	Norway	2 June 2006	Oslo
13		91.53 m (300 ft 3 in)	Tero Pitkämäki	Finland	26 June 2005	Kuortane
14		91.46 m (300 ft 0 in)	Steve Backley	United Kingdom	25 January 1992	Auckland	[27]
15		91.36 m (299 ft 8 in)	Cheng Chao-tsun	Chinese Taipei	26 August 2017	Taipei	[28]
16		91.29 m (299 ft 6 in)	Breaux Greer	United States	21 June 2007	Indianapolis
17		90.88 m (298 ft 1 in)	Jakub Vadlejch	Czech Republic	13 May 2022	Doha	[23]
18		90.82 m (297 ft 11 in)	Kimmo Kinnunen	Finland	26 August 1991	Tokyo
19		90.73 m (297 ft 8 in)	Vadims Vasiļevskis	Latvia	22 July 2007	Tallinn
20		90.61 m (297 ft 3 in)	Magnus Kirt	Estonia	22 June 2019	Kuortane	[29]
21		90.60 m (297 ft 2 in)	Seppo Räty	Finland	20 July 1992	Nurmijärvi
22		90.44 m (296 ft 8 in)	Boris Henry	Germany	9 July 1997	Linz
23		90.20 m (295 ft 11 in)	Max Dehning	Germany	25 February 2024	Halle	[30]
24		90.16 m (295 ft 9 in)	Keshorn Walcott	Trinidad and Tobago	9 July 2015	Lausanne
25		89.94 m (295 ft 0 in)	Neeraj Chopra	India	30 June 2022	Stockholm	[31]

• Correct as of September 2023.^[32]

Ath.#	Perf.#	Mark	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	72.28 m (237 ft 1 in)	Barbora Špotáková	Czech Republic	13 September 2008	Stuttgart
2	2	71.70 m (235 ft 2 in)	Osleidys Menéndez	Cuba	14 August 2005	Helsinki
	3	71.58 m (234 ft 10 in)	Špotáková #2		2 September 2011	Daegu
	4	71.54 m (234 ft 8 in)	Menéndez #2		1 July 2001	Rethymno
	5	71.53 m (234 ft 8 in)	Menéndez #3		27 August 2004	Athens
	6	71.42 m (234 ft 3 in)	Špotáková #3		21 August 2008	Beijing
3	7	71.40 m (234 ft 3 in)	Maria Andrejczyk	Poland	9 May 2021	Split	[33]
4	8	70.53 m (231 ft 4 in)	Mariya Abakumova	Russia	1 September 2013	Berlin
5	9	70.20 m (230 ft 3 in)	Christina Obergföll	Germany	23 June 2007	Munich
	10	70.03 m (229 ft 9 in)	Obergföll #2		14 August 2005	Helsinki
	11	69.82 m (229 ft 0 in)	Menéndez #4		29 August 2001	Beijing
	12	69.81 m (229 ft 0 in)	Obergföll #3		31 August 2008	Elstal
	13	69.75 m (228 ft 10 in)	Abakumova #2		25 August 2013	Elstal
	14	69.57 m (228 ft 2 in)	Obergföll #4		8 September 2011	Zürich
	15	69.55 m (228 ft 2 in)	Špotáková #4		9 August 2012	London
	16	69.53 m (228 ft 1 in)	Menéndez #5		6 August 2001	Edmonton
6	17	69.48 m (227 ft 11 in)	Trine Hattestad	Norway	28 July 2000	Oslo
	18	69.45 m (227 ft 10 in)	Špotáková #5		22 July 2011	Monaco
7	19	69.35 m (227 ft 6 in)	Sunette Viljoen	South Africa	9 June 2012	New York City
	20	69.34 m (227 ft 5 in)	Abakumova #3		16 March 2013	Castellón
8	21	69.19 m (227 ft 0 in)	Christin Hussong	Germany	30 May 2021	Chorzów	[34]
	22	69.15 m (226 ft 10 in)	Špotáková #6		31 May 2008	Zaragoza
	23	69.09 m (226 ft 8 in)	Abakumova #4		16 August 2013	Moscow
	24	69.05 m (226 ft 6 in)	Obergföll #5		18 August 2013	Moscow
	25	68.94 m (226 ft 2 in)	Abakumova #5		29 August 2013	Zürich
9		68.92 m (226 ft 1 in)	Kathryn Mitchell	Australia	11 April 2018	Gold Coast	[35]
10		68.43 m (224 ft 6 in)	Sara Kolak	Croatia	6 July 2017	Lausanne	[36]
11		68.34 m (224 ft 2 in)	Steffi Nerius	Germany	31 August 2008	Elstal
12		68.11 m (223 ft 5 in)	Kara Winger	United States	2 September 2022	Brussels	[37]
13		67.98 m (223 ft 0 in)	Lü Huihui	China	2 August 2019	Shenyang	[38]
14		67.70 m (222 ft 1 in)	Kelsey-Lee Barber	Australia	9 July 2019	Lucerne	[39]
15		67.69 m (222 ft 0 in)	Katharina Molitor	Germany	30 August 2015	Beijing	[40]
16		67.67 m (222 ft 0 in)	Sonia Bisset	Cuba	6 July 2005	Salamanca
17		67.51 m (221 ft 5 in)	Mirela Manjani	Greece	30 September 2000	Sydney
18		67.47 m (221 ft 4 in)	Tatsiana Khaladovich	Belarus	7 June 2018	Oslo	[41]
19		67.40 m (221 ft 1 in)	Nikola Ogrodníková	Czech Republic	26 May 2019	Offenburg	[42]
			Maggie Malone	United States	17 July 2021	East Stroudsburg
21		67.38 m (221 ft 0 in)	Haruka Kitaguchi	Japan	8 September 2023	Brussels	[43]
22		67.32 m (220 ft 10 in)	Linda Stahl	Germany	14 June 2014	New York City
23		67.30 m (220 ft 9 in)	Vera Rebrik	Russia	19 February 2016	Sochi
24		67.29 m (220 ft 9 in)	Hanna Hatsko-Fedusova	Ukraine	26 July 2014	Kirovohrad
			Liu Shiying	China	15 September 2020	Shaoxing	[44]

• In 2011, Mariya Abakumova threw 71.99 metres. This performance was annulled due to doping offences.

Marks set using dimpled rough-tailed javelins manufactured by several companies were nullified effective 20 September 1991.^{[7]: 208–209}

Rank	Mark	Athlete	Date	Place	Ref
1	96.96	Seppo Räty (FIN)	2 June 1991	Punkalaidun	[45]
2	91.36	Steve Backley (GBR)	15 September 1991	Sheffield
3	90.84	Raymond Hecht (GER)	8 September 1991	Gengenbach
4	90.82	Kimmo Kinnunen (FIN)	26 August 1991	Tokyo
5	90.72	Jan Železný (TCH)	10 July 1991	Lausanne

• List of javelin throw national champions (men)
• List of javelin throwers

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Javelin throw.

• IAAF list of javelin-throw records in XML
• (IAAF Statement) Archived 23 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine – statement of reasons to modify the javelin design
• Masters World Rankings Archived 5 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• IAAF competition rules