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 a retired British 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.
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.
Tero Kristian Pitkämäki is a Finnish retired track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a World Champion, having won gold in 2007. His personal best throw of 91.53 m, set in 2005, ranks him eleventh on the overall list.
Salim Sdiri is a French long jumper of Tunisian descent. His personal best is 8.42 metres, achieved in June 2009 at Pierre-Bénite, which is the current French national record. He is also the French national record holder for indoor long jump with an 8.27 m jump in 2006. He has jumped eight meters or more every season since 2002 and has a bronze medallion from the 2007 European Indoor Athletics Championships.
Devendra Jhajharia is an Indian Paralympic javelin thrower competing in F46 events. He is the first Indian Paralympics player to win two gold medals at the Paralympics. He won his first gold in the javelin throw at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, becoming the second gold medalist at the Paralympics for his country. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won a second gold medal in the same event, bettering his previous record. Devendra is currently being supported by the Olympic Gold Quest. He becomes India's most decorated Paralympic player by winning his third medal, a silver at the 2020 Summer Paralympics at Tokyo.
Thomas Alan Petranoff is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He held the world record from May 1983 to July 1984; his 99.72 m throw was almost the length of an American football field (360 feet. During his career, he was a silver medalist at the World Championships in 1983 and represented the United States at the Summer Olympics in 1984 and 1988. He transferred to South Africa in the 1990s and was twice a winner at the African Championships. His personal best with the new implement javelin is 89.16 m. In the final years of his career, he returned to the United States and won a medal at the 1999 Pan American Games.
Breaux is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Arne Roald Bradstock is an Olympic athlete and an Olympic artist from England who competed in the men's javelin throw event during his career. He twice represented Great Britain at the Summer Olympics: 1984 and 1988. In 1992 he was an alternate for the GB Olympic Team and in 1996 was an alternate for the USA Olympic team. Bradstock competed in the 2000, 2004, 2008 USAT&F Olympic Trials and then, for his 8th and final time at age 50, the 2012 UK Olympic Trials where he came second.
Katy Mixon is an American actress and model. She began her career playing supporting roles in films such as The Quiet (2005), Four Christmases (2008), and State of Play (2009), before landing the female leading role in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down (2009–2013).
Kara Estelle Winger is an American track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She is the American record holder in the javelin throw with a distance of 68.11 m.
Samuel Crouser is an American javelin thrower. He is a 2015 alumnus of the University of Oregon.
Craig Kinsley is a retired American track and field athlete and 2012 Olympian who competed in the javelin throw, and is now an assistant coach of Brown University track and field. In 2010, he won the javelin at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and was named as an Academic All-American by the USATFCCCA. He also placed third at the US National Championships that year. In 2012, he placed third at the Olympic Trials and qualified to represent the United States at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Michael Hazle is a United States Olympian and National Champion Mike is also a former United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) Combat Controller (CCT). He is a four-time silver medalist at the US outdoor championships (2007–2010), before he claimed his first National Championship in 2011. He also won a silver medal in his category at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Marcus Paul "Mark" Murro is an American former javelin thrower. Murro held the United States record in men's javelin throw from 1969 to 1982 and competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics.
The 2007 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was organised by USA Track & Field and held from June 20 to 24 at the IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The four-day competition served as the national championships in track and field for the United States and also the trials for the 2007 World Championships in Athletics.
The 2006 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was organised by USA Track & Field and held from June 22 to 25 at the IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The four-day competition served as the national championships in track and field for the United States. As there was no Summer Olympics or World Championships in Athletics held that year, the competition did not serve as a national team selection event.
Joseph Tyler Mixon is an American football running back for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). Mixon played college football at Oklahoma, where he was a first-team All-Big 12, and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft.
Subedar Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track and field athlete, who is the reigning Olympic champion and World champion in Men's javelin throw. He is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in javelin and the first Asian to win gold in his event at the World Championship. A Junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army, Chopra is the first track and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics. He is also the first track and field athlete from India to win at the World Under-20 Championships, where in 2016 he achieved a world U20 record throw of 86.48 m, becoming the first Indian athlete to set a world record.
Anderson Peters is a Grenadian javelin thrower and the 2019 and 2022 world champion in the event. He is a multiple time CARIFTA Games champion at the discipline and in 2016 earned a bronze medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, setting a new Grenadian national record and OECS record at the same time.
United States 
