The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about 2.5 m in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon.
Janusz Jan Sidło was a Polish javelin thrower. He competed at the 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968 Olympics and finished in 18th, 2nd, 8th, 4th and 7th place, respectively. He was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and later the Knight's Cross. During his long career Sidło won 14 national titles and competed in five European Championships, winning them in 1954 and 1958 and medalling in 1969.
Pauli Lauri Nevala is a Finnish former javelin thrower.
Eugene G. Oberst was an American football player, track and field athlete, coach of football and basketball, and college athletics administrator. Oberst was born the youngest of eleven children. A native of Owensboro, Kentucky, he played football at the University of Notre Dame in the 1920s under coach Knute Rockne, and competed in track and field as a javelin thrower. He won the Olympic bronze medal at the 1924 Summer Games in Paris. Oberst served as the head football coach at Washington and Lee University (1929–1930), Canisius College (1931–1932), and John Carroll University (1946).
Mac Maurice Wilkins is an American athlete, who competed mainly in the discus throw. He was born in Eugene, Oregon and graduated in 1969 from Beaverton High School in Beaverton, Oregon.
Franklin Wesley "Bud" Held is an American athlete primarily notable for his performance throwing the javelin. He was born in Los Angeles, California.
Brian David Crouser is a retired javelin thrower from the United States, who twice competed at the Summer Olympics during his career.
Leo Evan Long is a former competitive American javelin thrower and track and field coach.
Wendy Renee Brown is a retired heptathlete and triple jumper from the United States. She competed in the heptathlon at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, finishing in 18th place behind teammate Jackie Joyner Kersee's still current world record. As the event was in transition to become an official event, she set the world record in the women's triple jump twice in the mid-1980s. Because this was before the event was declared official, neither of those records were officially ratified. Brown went to the University of Southern California where she won the 1986 NCAA Indoor Championship in the Triple Jump and later winning 1988 NCAA Championship in the Heptathlon. She is still the school record holder in the Triple Jump and Heptathlon, as well as being ranked second in Long Jump and High Jump, and fifth in the Javelin throw.
Arne Roald Bradstock is an Olympic athlete and an Olympic artist from England who competed in the men's javelin throw event during his career. He twice represented Great Britain at the Summer Olympics: 1984 and 1988. In 1992 he was an alternate for the GB Olympic Team and in 1996 was an alternate for the USA Olympic team. Bradstock competed in the 2000, 2004, 2008 USAT&F Olympic Trials and then, for his 8th and final time at age 50, the 2012 UK Olympic Trials where he came second.
Samuel Crouser is an American javelin thrower. He is a 2015 alumnus of the University of Oregon.
Philip Einar Olsen was a Canadian athlete, a javelin thrower who competed in the finals in the 1976 Summer Olympics and won a gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games. One of the most decorated track and field athletes in Canada, Olsen still holds numerous provincial and national records in the javelin.
Carlo Lievore was an Italian javelin thrower.
Michael Hazle is a United States Olympian and National Champion Mike is also a former United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) Combat Controller (CCT). He is a four-time silver medalist at the US outdoor championships (2007–2010), before he claimed his first National Championship in 2011. He also won a silver medal in his category at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Hamish Peacock is an Australian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He has competed at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and the Summer Olympics.
Marcus Paul "Mark" Murro is an American former javelin thrower. Murro held the United States record in men's javelin throw from 1969 to 1982 and competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Ryan Crouser is an American shot putter and discus thrower. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Olympic record holder. Crouser is the current world record holder in the shot put, both indoor and outdoor. On June 18, 2021, at the U.S. Olympic Trials he threw 23.37 m on his fourth attempt to beat Randy Barnes's 31-year-old record of 23.12 m by almost 10 inches (25 cm). As of September 2022, Crouser has thrown 8 of the 12 longest shot puts of all time outdoors.
Maggie Malone-Hardin is an American track and field athlete competing in the javelin throw. She holds a personal record of 67.40 meters for the event, set in 2021, a national record. She was the 2016 American national and collegiate record holder and NCAA Division 1 champion. She is the American collegiate record holder. Maggie and Sam Hardin married in 2022.
Neeraj Chopra, PVSM, VSM is a track and field athlete from India. He is the reigning Olympic champion, World Championships silver medallist and the Diamond League champion in the javelin throw. He is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in men's javelin throw. A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Army, Chopra is the first track and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics. He is also the first track and field athlete from India to win at the World Under-20 Championships, where in 2016 he achieved a world U20 record throw of 86.48 m, becoming the first Indian athlete to set a world record.
Anderson Peters is a Grenadian javelin thrower and the current world champion in the event. He is a multiple time CARIFTA Games champion at the discipline and in 2016 earned a bronze medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, setting a new Grenadian national record and OECS record at the same time.
