Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's hammer throw

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Men's hammer throw
at the Games of the VII Olympiad
Patrick Ryan 1920.jpg
Patrick Ryan
Venue Olympisch Stadion
DateAugust 18, 1920
Competitors12 from 5 nations
Winning distance52.875
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Patrick Ryan
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Carl Johan Lind
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
Bronze medal icon.svg Basil Bennett
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
  1912
1924  

The men's hammer throw event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Wednesday, August 18, 1920. 12 throwers from 5 nations competed; four from Sweden, four from the United States, two from Canada, one from Great Britain, and one from Finland. [1] No nation had more than 4 athletes, suggesting the limit had been reduced from the 12 maximum in force in 1908 and 1912. The event was won by Patrick Ryan of the United States, the nation's fifth consecutive victory in the event. Carl Johan Lind took silver, earning Sweden's first medal in the hammer throw. Another American, Basil Bennett, earned bronze.

Background

This was the fifth appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1896. Four of the 14 competitors from the pre-war 1912 Games returned: gold medalist Matt McGrath of the United States and three Swedes: fourth-place finisher Robert Olsson, fifth-place finisher Carl Johan Lind, and seventh-place finisher Nils Linde. McGrath, who would earn seven AAU championships from 1908 to 1926, and fellow American and world-record holder Patrick Ryan, who would win eight AAU championships in that time, were expected to dominate the event. McGrath, however, suffered an injury and could not challenge for the medals. [2]

Finland made its debut in the event. The United States appeared for the fifth time, the only nation to have competed at each appearance of the event to that point.

Competition format

The competition continued to use the divided-final format used since 1908, with results carrying over between "rounds". The number of finalists expanded from three in previous Games to six in 1920. Each athlete received three throws in the qualifying round. The top six men advanced to the final, where they received an additional three throws. The best result, qualifying or final, counted. [2] [3]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.

World recordFlag of the United States.svg  Patrick Ryan  (USA)57.77 New York City, United States 17 August 1913
Olympic recordUS flag 48 stars.svg  Matt McGrath  (USA)54.74 Stockholm, Sweden 14 July 1912

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

DateTimeRound
Wednesday, 18 August 192010:45
15:30
Qualifying
Final

Results

The best six hammer throwers qualified for the final. McGrath injured his knee during the second throw in qualifying and withdrew, though still had thrown far enough to take fifth place.

RankAthleteNationQualifyingFinalDistance
Gold medal icon.svg Patrick Ryan US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 52.83052.87552.875
Silver medal icon.svg Carl Johan Lind Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 48.00048.43048.430
Bronze medal icon.svg Basil Bennett US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 48.25048.25048.250
4 Malcolm Svensson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 47.290Unknown47.290
5 Matt McGrath US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 46.67046.670
6 Tom Nicolson Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain [4] 45.70045.700
7 Nils Linde Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 44.885Unknown44.885
8 James McEachern US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 44.700Did not advance44.700
9 Archie McDiarmid Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada 44.560Did not advance44.660
10 Robert Olsson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 44.190Did not advance44.190
11 Johan Pettersson Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 41.760Did not advance41.760
John Cameron Flag of Canada (1868-1921).svg  Canada NMDid not advanceNM

References

  1. "Athletics at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Games: Men's Hammer Throw". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Hammer Throw, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  3. Official Report, p. 116.
  4. Nicolson missed the qualifying round but was allowed to compete in the final after the other competitors petitioned for him to receive the opportunity.

Sources