The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about 2.5 m in length, is thrown as far as possible. 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.
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.
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.
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.
Andrei Anatolyevich Mikhnevich is a Belarusian shot putter with a personal best of 21.69 metres, set in 2003. In 2013 he was banned from sports for life due to his second doping positive.
The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011.
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.
The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 27 July to 1 August 2010. Barcelona was the first Spanish city to host the European Championships.
Mariya Vasiliyevna Abakumova is a Russian former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw.
The men's shot put event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 15 August at the Beijing Olympic Stadium. Forty-four athletes from 34 nations competed. The event was won by Tomasz Majewski of Poland, the nation's first victory in the men's shot put since 1972. Christian Cantwell of the United States took silver, the seventh consecutive Games in which an American finished first or second.
The women's javelin throw at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 19–21 August at the Beijing National Stadium.
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.
Yuliya Mikhailovna Zaripova is a Russian former disgraced middle-distance runner who specialised in the 3000 metres steeplechase event.
The Women's javelin throw event at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on September 1 and 2.
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 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.
As a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) prohibits the use of banned performance-enhancing substances by competitors at the World Championships in Athletics. A list of WADA-banned substances is regularly published to the public and amended as scientific knowledge expands. The IAAF and anti-doping bodies undertake in-competition sampling of athletes blood and urine in order to detect where athletes have taken banned substances. This is also complemented by out-of-competition tests during the tournament and in the preceding period.
Split, Croatia 
