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.
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.
Boris Obergföll is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He won a bronze medal in the World Championships twice. His personal best throw was 90.44 metres, set in July 1997. This ranks him fifth among German javelin throwers, behind Johannes Vetter, Thomas Röhler, Raymond Hecht and Andreas Hofmann.
Karen Forkel is a German track and field athlete and an Olympic medal winner. In the 1990s she was among the world's best javelin throwers. Her biggest success came in the 1992 Summer Olympics when she took the bronze medal with a throw of 66.86 meters.
Dainis Kūla is a Latvian former javelin thrower who represented the Soviet Union at the international level for most of his career. He is most famous for controversially winning the gold medal in men's javelin throw at the 1980 Summer Olympics, becoming the second Latvian to achieve this. He is also a World Championship bronze medalist, a three-time Soviet Champion and a two-time Universiade champion.
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.
Frank Emmelmann is a retired East German sprinter who specialized in the 100 and 200 metres.
Michael Thomas Maria Wessing was a German javelin thrower.
Uwe Hohn is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is the only athlete to throw a javelin 100 metres or more, with his world record of 104.80 m. A new javelin design was implemented in 1986 and the records had to be restarted, thus Hohn's mark became an "eternal world record". He coached Indian track and field athlete Neeraj Chopra, who won the gold in the men's javelin throw at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo.
Ferenc Paragi was a Hungarian athlete who, on 23 April 1980 established a world record of 96.72 meters in the javelin throw, eclipsing the global standard set by fellow countryman Miklós Németh at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
The men's javelin throw event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had 18 competitors in one qualifying group. The qualifying round was staged on July 26, with the automatic qualifying mark set at 80.00 metres (262.47 ft). Twelve advanced to the final, which took place the following day.
Sultana Frizell is a Canadian track and field athlete competing in the hammer throw. Frizell currently trains under the guidance of Derek Evely in Kamloops, British Columbia. She competed at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Frizell is the former Commonwealth Games champion in the hammer throw and Commonwealth Games record holder for the event as well.
Marharyta Serhiïvna Dorozhon is an Israeli javelin thrower. Born and raised in Ukraine, she competed for that country until she became an Israeli citizen in 2014.
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.
Hamish Peacock is an Australian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He has competed at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and the Summer Olympics.
Thomas Röhler is a German track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He is the 2016 Olympic Champion and 2018 European Champion. His personal best of 93.90 m for the event ranks him third on the overall list.
Johannes Vetter is a German athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He won gold at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. His personal best of 97.76 m is the German record, and ranks him second on the overall list. Vetter currently trains under Boris Obergföll and is a member of LG Offenburg's track and field squad. He was previously with SV Saar 05 Saarbrücken and Dresdner SC.
Magnus Kirt is an Estonian retired athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He won the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships. His personal best of 90.61 m is the Estonian record.
Philip Spies is a retired South African javelin thrower. Primarily a provincial cricketer at school and South African Country District level, chose athletics over cricket. The arrival in South Africa of American World Record Holder, Tom Petranoff was a big deciding factor for Spies with regards to choosing athletics over cricket. Petranoff became an integral part of Spies' athletics career and still regards Petranoff as being one of the great javelin throwers of all time considering that Petranoff held two separate world records: 99.72m with the "Old" model and 85.38m with the "new" model. He became South African Schools champion at 17 years of age and achieved South African Schools Colors in 1988. Versatile sportsman who played on the SA Tennis Union circuit in 1990/ 1991 and reached a best golf handicap of 05 in 2000.
East Germany 
