The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland, the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic events, some of which were included as exhibition events. Much of the event was played in extremely heavy rainfall.
The men's hammer throw competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held at the Olympic Stadium on 20–22 August. There were 35 competitors from 24 nations. After a series of doping-related disqualifications, the event was won by Koji Murofushi of Japan, the nation's first medal in the event. All distances are given in metres.
Yipsi Moreno González is a Cuban hammer thrower. She is a triple world champion and Olympic gold medalist, a former world junior record holder and current area record holder.
Ivan Ryhoravich Tsikhan is a Belarusian hammer thrower. He is a two-time world champion and an Olympic medalist.
Kirsten Münchow is a German hammer thrower who won the Olympic bronze medal in 2000 with a personal best throw of 69.28 metres.
Yunaika Crawford Rogert is a Cuban hammer thrower who won the Olympic bronze medal in 2004 with a personal best throw of 73.16 metres.
Dame Valerie Kasanita Adams is a retired New Zealand shot putter. She is a four-time World champion, four-time World Indoor champion, two-time Olympic, three-time Commonwealth Games champion and twice IAAF Continental Cup winner. She has a personal best throw of 21.24 metres (69.7 ft) outdoors and 20.98 metres (68.8 ft) indoors. These marks are Oceanian, Commonwealth and New Zealand national records. She also holds the Oceanian junior record (18.93 m) and the Oceanian youth record (17.54 m), as well as the World Championships record, World Indoor Championships record and Commonwealth Games record.
The Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium on August 10 and August 12. The qualification standard was set at 70.00 metres or at least the best 12 qualified for the final round.
Nadzeya Astapchuk is a Belarusian shot putter. She briefly was designated the Olympic Champion in 2012, but was subsequently stripped of the title for failing a drug test and the gold medal was awarded to New Zealand shot putter Valerie Adams. She was World Champion in 2005, but in March 2013, the IAAF reported that her drug test sample from that event had been retested and found to be positive.
Tatyana Viktorovna Lysenko is a Russian hammer thrower. Her career has been blighted by repeated doping infractions. In February 2019, the Court of Arbitration for Sport handed her an eight-year ban for doping, starting from 2 July 2016.
Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events.
Dilshod Jamoliddinovich Nazarov is a Tajik track and field athlete who specializes in the hammer throw. He has represented his country at the Olympic Games on four occasions, winning the gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, the first gold medal for Tajikistan in the history of the Olympic Games.
Anita Włodarczyk is a Polish hammer thrower. She is the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympic champion, and the first woman in history to throw the hammer over 80 m; she currently holds the women's world record of 82.98 m. She is considered the greatest women's hammer thrower of all time.
The final of the Men's hammer throw event at the 2002 European Championships in Munich, Germany was held on August 7, 2002. There were a total number of 31 participating athletes. The qualifying rounds were staged a day earlier, on August 6, with the mark set in 79.00 metres.
The final of the Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada was held on Tuesday August 7, 2001. There were a total number of 34 participating athletes. The qualifying rounds were staged on Monday August 6, with the mark set at 67.00 metres.
The 2010 European Cup Winter Throwing was held on 20 and 21 March 2010 at the Stade Fernand Fournier in Arles, France. It was the tenth edition of the athletics competition for throwing events and it was organised by the European Athletics Association and the Fédération française d'athlétisme.
The men's hammer throw competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 3–5 August. There were 41 competitors from 32 nations. The event was won by Krisztián Pars of Hungary, the nation's first victory in the men's hammer throw since 1996 and fifth overall. Primož Kozmus of Slovenia, the 2008 winner, took silver. Koji Murofushi of Japan, the 2004 winner, took bronze. Kozmus and Murofoshi were the 12th and 13th men to earn multiple medals in the hammer throw.
The women's long jump at the 2002 European Athletics Championships were held at the Olympic Stadium on August 6–7.
Aleksandr Dryhol is a Ukrainian-born Israeli, formerly Ukrainian and Soviet track and field athlete primarily known for the Hammer throw. He was selected to compete for Ukraine in the 2012 Summer Olympics, his first Olympic selection at the age of 46. He is the current world record holder in the M45 division of masters athletics at 79.42 m. In 2016, at the age of 50, he switched his country of eligibility to Israel, where he had been living for several years. On 1 June, with a 77.70 m (254 ft 11 in) throw in Jablonec nad Nisou, he qualified for the Olympics again. At that point in time he was the #7 thrower in the world that year. For the second time, he would have been the oldest competitor in Athletics competition at the Olympics. His throw does not count as a Masters M50 world record because the implement he throws for open competition is 1.26 kg heavier than the normal implement for the M50 age group. His throw was almost 6 meters further than Jud Logan's record with the lighter implement. He is the last remaining active athlete to have competed for the Soviet Union.
The 2006 European Cup Winter Throwing was held on 18 and 19 March at Hadar Yosef Stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the sixth edition of the athletics competition for throwing events organised by the European Athletics Association. A total of 168 athletes from 28 countries entered the competition.
