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.
Stephen James Backley, OBE is an English retired track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He formerly held the world record, and his 91.46-metre (300.1 ft) throw from 1992 is the British record. During his career, he was a firm fixture in the British national athletics team. He won four gold medals at the European Championships, three Commonwealth Games gold medals, two silvers and a bronze at the Olympic Games, and two silvers at the World Championships. Currently, he is an occasional commentator for athletics competitions, especially the field events.
Theresa Ione Sanderson is a British former javelin thrower. She appeared in every Summer Olympics from 1976 to 1996, winning the gold medal in the javelin throw at the 1984 Olympics. She was the second track and field athlete to compete at six Olympics, and the first Black British woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
Clova E. Court is a retired English athlete, who competed mainly in the heptathlon and the 100 metres hurdles. She represented Great Britain in the heptathlon at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. She won a record five AAA Championships heptathlon tiles, and also won the 1994 AAAs Championship 100 metres hurdles title, defeating Sally Gunnell.
Karen Lesley Martin is an English former international javelin thrower.
Stuart James Farquhar is a male javelin thrower from New Zealand. He was the silver medallist in the men's javelin at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Gladys Anne Lunn was an English track and field athlete from Birmingham, England who competed in the 1934 British Empire Games in the 1938 British Empire Games.
Kirsten Louise Hellier is a former javelin thrower, who represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth and the Olympic Games. She set her personal best in 1994 with the old javelin type. Hellier was the coach of World Champion shot putter Valerie Adams from 1998 until 2010.
Athletics was one of the seven sports of the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games. Held between 9 and 11 September, the events were staged at the National Sports Centre in Douglas, Isle of Man.
Julius Yego is a Kenyan track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. Nicknamed "Mr. YouTube" because he learned how to throw by watching YouTube videos of javelin athletes, Yego is the African record holder for the event with a personal best of 92.72 m.
In India, the sport of athletics was introduced during the period of the British Raj. The sport is governed at national level by the Athletics Federation of India, which was formed in 1946. Despite its large population, few Indian athletes have won a medal in a global or major championship. This began to change in the 21st century, when Indians started taking greater interest in athletics more generally and improved facilities for the sport began to be built at a local level. At a continental level, it has been among the more successful Asian nations, though some distance behind China and Japan.
Kathryn Mitchell is an Australian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She has represented her country at three Olympic Games, finishing ninth in 2012 and sixth in 2016. She won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with a throw of 68.92 m, a Commonwealth Games, Australian and Oceanian record. It also ranks her ninth on the world all-time list.
Patsy Serafina Akeli is a Samoan javelin thrower. She is a two-time Olympian, a 2008 national javelin throw champion, and a member of the QEII Track Club in Australia. She set both a national record and a personal best throw of 54.78 metres, by winning her event at the New Zealand Athletics Championships in Wellington, New Zealand.
Annu Rani Dharayan is an Indian javelin thrower from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. She was the first Indian to reach the finals of the women's javelin throw event in the World Athletics Championships, Doha, 2019. Annu had qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics through world rankings after missing out on the Olympic Qualification mark. Her career best effort is 63.24m which helped her win the gold in the National Interstate Athletic Championship, Patiala, 2021.In the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Annu Rani scripted history as she became the first Indian female javelin thrower to win a medal, a bronze. She is the first Indian Javelin thrower to win a Gold medal in Asian games 2023 at Hangzhou.
Kelsey-Lee Barber is an Australian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She won gold at the 2019 World Championships, and her personal best of 67.70 m ranks her 13th in the overall list.
Magdalena Catherina Swanepoel was a South African track and field athlete who competed in the shot put and javelin throw events.
Susan Mary Platt is a British former track and field athlete who competed for England and Great Britain in the javelin throw. She was a three-time Olympian and competed three times at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. She had a personal best of 55.60 m and was Commonwealth champion in 1962.
The 1982 UK Athletics Championships was the national championship in outdoor track and field for the United Kingdom held at Cwmbran Stadium, Cwmbran. It was the second time the event was held in the Welsh town, following on from the 1977 UK Athletics Championships. The women's 5000 metres race walk was dropped from the programme for this championship.
Mark W. Roberson is a retired English javelin thrower. He represented England at four successive Commonwealth Games between 1990 and 2002.
