Latvia competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's eighth appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Vadims Vasiļevskis is a retired Latvian track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He won silver at the 2004 Summer Olympics. His personal best throw of 90.73 m, set in 2007, is the Latvian record. In 2008, Vasiļevskis was awarded the Latvian Order of the Three Stars for his achievements in athletics.
Andreas Thorkildsen is a retired Norwegian track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He was the Olympic Champion in 2004 and 2008, European Champion in 2006 and 2010, and World Champion in 2009. He is the first male javelin thrower in history to simultaneously be European, World and Olympic Champion. He was also a three-time silver medalist at the World Championships, placing second in 2005, 2007 and 2011. His personal best of 91.59 m, set in 2006, is the Norwegian record.
The European Throwing Cup is an annual continental athletics competition for athletes specialising in the events of discus, javelin and hammer throwing and the shot put. The winter event, organised every March by the European Athletics Association, is intended as a counterbalance to the fact that indoor track and field meetings cannot host the longer throwing events. It allows athletes who specialise in throwing events to gauge their form for the forthcoming outdoor athletics season.
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 2011 European Cup Winter Throwing was held on 19 and 20 March 2011 at the National Sports Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was the eleventh edition of the athletics competition for throwing events and was jointly organised by the European Athletic Association and the Bulgarian Athletic Federation.
The 2002 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics was the tenth edition of the international athletics competition between Ibero-American nations which was held at the Estadio Cementos Progreso in Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala on 11 and 12 May. A total of 328 athletes participated in the 44-event programme. The 3000 metres was introduced for both men and women, replacing the longer 10,000 metres event.
The 2012 European Cup Winter Throwing was held on 17 and 18 March at the Stadion Topolica in Bar, Montenegro. It was the twelfth edition of the athletics competition for throwing events and was jointly organised by the European Athletic Association and the Athletic Federation of Montenegro. The competition featured men's and women's contests in shot put, discus throw, javelin throw and hammer throw. In addition to the senior competitions, there were also under-23 events for younger athletes. A total of 294 athletes from 39 European countries entered the competition.
The 2013 European Cup Winter Throwing was held on 16 and 17 March at the Pista de Atletismo Universitat Jaume I and Complejo Deportivo Gaetà Huguet in Castellón, Spain. It was the thirteenth edition of the athletics competition in throwing events and was jointly organised by the European Athletic Association and the Real Federación Española de Atletismo. The competition featured men's and women's contests in shot put, discus throw, javelin throw and hammer throw. In addition to the senior competitions, there were also under-23 events for younger athletes. A total of 249 athletes from 38 nations entered the competition. It was the second time that Spain hosted the event, following on from the 2009 edition held in Tenerife.
The 2009 European Cup Winter Throwing was held on 14 and 15 March at the Estadio de Los Realejos in Tenerife, Spain. It was the ninth edition of the athletics competition for throwing events and was organised by the European Athletics Association and the Real Federación Española de Atletismo. The competition featured men's and women's contests in shot put, discus throw, javelin throw and hammer throw. In addition to the senior competitions, there were also under-23 events for younger athletes. A total of 226 athletes from 29 nations entered the competition. It was the first time that Spain hosted the competition.
Dmitriy Sergeyev Tarabin is a Russian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. His personal best for the event is 88.84 m. He was the winner of the javelin at Summer Universiade and the Russian Championships in 2013. Tarabin previously competed for Moldova and remains the country's national record holder.
The 2007 European Cup Winter Throwing was held on 17 and 18 March at Avangard Stadium in Yalta, Ukraine. It was the seventh edition of the athletics competition for throwing events organised by the European Athletics Association. A total of 203 athletes from 26 countries entered the competition – a new high for the event.
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.
The 2005 European Cup Winter Throwing was held on 12 and 13 March at Macit Özcan Sports Complex in Mersin, Turkey. It was the fifth edition of the athletics competition for throwing events organised by the European Athletics Association. A total of 174 athletes from 29 countries entered the competition. It was the first time that the competition was held with the Cup name, changing from the European Winter Throwing Challenge moniker it had since its initial edition in 2001.
The 2003 European Winter Throwing Challenge was held on 1 and 2 March at Stadio Polivalente Gioia Tauro in Gioia Tauro, Italy. It was the third edition of the athletics competition for throwing events organised by the European Athletics Association. A total of 137 athletes from 24 countries entered the competition.
The 2002 European Winter Throwing Challenge was held on 9 and 10 March at Stadion Veruda in Pula, Croatia. It was the second edition of the athletics competition for throwing events organised by the European Athletics Association. A total of 175 athletes from 26 countries entered the competition, an increase on the inaugural edition the previous year.
The 2001 European Winter Throwing Challenge was held on 17 and 18 March at Stade Charles-Ehrmann in Nice, France. It was the first edition of the athletics competition for throwing events organised by the European Athletics Association. A total of 151 athletes from 22 countries entered the competition.
The 2014 European Cup Winter Throwing was held on 16 and 17 March at the Centro Nacional de Lançamentos and Estádio Municipal in Leiria, Portugal. It was the fourteenth edition of the athletics competition for throwing events and was jointly organised by the European Athletic Association and the Federação Portuguesa de Atletismo. The competition featured men's and women's contests in shot put, discus throw, javelin throw and hammer throw. In addition to the senior competitions, there were also under-23 events for younger athletes.
Lukas Weißhaidinger is an Austrian discus thrower and shot putter. He was European junior discus champion in 2011 and holds the Austrian record in men's discus throw. He won bronze medals at the 2018 European Championships, 2019 World Athletics Championships, and 2020 Summer Olympics.
The 2017 European Throwing Cup was held on 11 and 13 March at the Gran Canaria Sport Complex "Martín Freire" in Las Palmas, Spain. It was the seventeenth edition of the athletics competition for throwing events and was jointly organised by the European Athletic Association. The competition featured men's and women's contests in shot put, discus throw, javelin throw and hammer throw. In addition to the senior competitions, there were also under-23 events for younger athletes.
Rutger Smith (NED)
Miran Vodovnik (SLO)
Grigoriy Panfilov (RUS)
Gerd Kanter (EST)
Mario Pestano (ESP)
Vadims Vasiļevskis (LAT)
Teemu Wirkkala (FIN)
Krisztián Pars (HUN)
Eşref Apak (TUR)
Alexandros Papadimitriou (GRE)
Vita Pavlysh (UKR)
Nadine Kleinert (GER)
Assunta Legnante (ITA)
Mélina Robert-Michon (FRA)
Shirley Webb (GBR)
