Kirsten Münchow is a German hammer thrower who won the Olympic bronze medal in 2000 with a personal best throw of 69.28 metres.
Martina Helga Hellmann is a retired German track and field athlete who represented East Germany. She was the Olympic champion in the discus throw at the 1988 Summer Olympics. She also won the World Championship in that event in 1983 and again in 1987.
Diana Gansky is a German track and field athlete. She won an Olympic medal and was one of the world's best discus throwers. She represented East Germany and was the 1986 European champion. In 1987 and 1988 she was second in both the world championship and the Olympic games.
The men's hammer throw was one of six throwing events on the Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme in London. The competition was held on July 14, 1908. 19 throwers from eight nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes. The event was won by American John Flanagan, his third consecutive victory in the event. He was the first man to win three medals in the hammer throw and, as of the 2016 Games, the only one to win three gold medals in the event. The silver medal went to fellow American Matt McGrath. Con Walsh of Canada took bronze and became the first athlete not from the United States to win a medal in the event, as the Americans had swept the podium in both 1900 and 1904. The three medalists were all part of the Irish Whales.
Lance Earl Deal is a former American athlete who won a silver medal in the hammer throw in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He also competed in the 1988, 1992, and 2000 Summer Olympics.
Betty Heidler is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the hammer throw. She held the world record from 2011 until 2014 with her personal best throw of 79.42 m. She is the 2012 Olympic silver medallist, the 2007 World champion and the 2009 and 2011 World Championship silver medallist. She also finished fourth in the Olympic finals in 2004 and 2016.
Athletes from West Germany competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the first time that East Germany and West Germany sent separate teams to the Summer Olympic Games. 275 competitors, 232 men and 43 women, took part in 154 events in 17 sports for West Germany. As the country hosted the next Olympics in Munich, the West German flag was raised at the closing ceremony.
Karl Hein was a German hammer thrower who won a gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Vasiliy Vladimirovich Khmelevskiy was a Soviet athlete who competed mainly in the hammer throw. He won a bronze medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics with a throw of 74.04 metres, behind compatriot Anatoly Bondarchuk and Jochen Sachse of East Germany. He also finished in third place at the national championships in 1971 and 1972. He achieved a personal best of 74.98 meters on 8 July 1975 in Minsk.
James Steacy is a male hammer thrower from Canada. His personal best of 79.13 metres, achieved in May 2008 in Lethbridge, Alberta, stood as the Canadian record until 2023. He represented Canada at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. With a top 12 finish at the 2008 Summer Olympics, he became the first Canadian in 84 years to reach the Olympic hammer throw final. Competing for University of Lethbridge, he is a five time CIS national champion in the weight throw and is the current CIS record holder in the event. He is the older brother of Canadian hammer thrower Heather Steacy. He currently serves as a police officer for Lethbridge Police Service, in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Anita Włodarczyk is a Polish hammer thrower. She is the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympic champion, and the first woman in history to throw the hammer over 80 m; she currently holds the women's world record of 82.98 m. She is considered the greatest female hammer thrower of all time.
Amber Campbell is an American hammer thrower. Campbell attended Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina and competed for the Chanticleer track team. She had her first international competition at the 2005 World Championships. She then competed in the 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015 World Championships. Her first Olympic birth came at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. She then went on to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games as well. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, Campbell advanced to the finals placing 6th finishing as the highest placing American woman ever.
Alexander David Smith is an English track and field athlete competing in the hammer throw.
The men's hammer throw field event at the 1972 Summer Olympics took place on September 4 & 7. There were 31 competitors from 17 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Anatoliy Bondarchuk of the Soviet Union, the nation's third victory in the men's hammer throw. Fellow Soviet Vasiliy Khmelevskiy took bronze. Silver went to Jochen Sachse of East Germany, the nation's first medal in the event. The Soviet Union's medal streak in the event extended to five Games, while Hungary's ended after three Games.
The men's hammer throw competition at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada took place on 26–28 July. There were 20 competitors from 13 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Yuriy Sedykh of the Soviet Union, the nation's second consecutive and fourth overall victory in the men's hammer throw. The Soviets swept the medals, with Aleksey Spiridonov taking silver and defending champion Anatoliy Bondarchuk earning bronze. It was the third medal sweep in the men's hammer throw. Bondarchuk was the seventh man to win multiple medals in the event.
The hammer throw at the Summer Olympics is one of four track and field throwing events held at the multi-sport event. The men's hammer throw has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900, becoming the third Olympic throws event after the shot put and discus throw. The women's event was a much later addition, being first contested at the 2000 Olympics.
Waleed Saleh Al-Bekheet is a Kuwaiti former hammer thrower who competed at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics, finishing in 27th and 25th, respectively. He is the 1993 Arab champion, and later competed at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg.
Camillo Zemi was an Italian discus thrower and hammer thrower who competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics, and at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
Murray Spencer Cheater was a New Zealand hammer thrower who represented his country at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
East Germany 
