The javelin throw is an Olympic track and field event. Athletes specialising in the discipline are known as javelin throwers.
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.
Jan Železný is a Czech former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a World and Olympic champion and holds the world record with a throw of 98.48 metres. Widely considered to be the greatest javelin thrower of the modern era, he also has the fourth, fifth and sixth best performances of all time. He broke the world record a total of four times.
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.
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.
A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the Javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with the aid of a hand-held mechanism. However, devices do exist to assist the javelin thrower in achieving greater distances, such as spear-throwers or the amentum.
The men's javelin throw event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 38 competitors, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Sunday September 25, 1988. This was the first time that the competitors had to use the new javelin. The qualification mark was set at 79.00 metres.
The Women's Javelin Throw event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 29 competitors, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Monday September 26, 1988. The top 12 and all those reaching 63.00 metres advanced to the final. All results were made with a rough surfaced javelin.
The Men's Javelin Throw event at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland had a total number of 18 participating athletes, with the final held on 12 August 1983. All results were made with old rules javelin. The qualification mark was set at 84.00 metres.
The Men's Javelin Throw event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, had an entry list of 28 competitors. The final was held on August 5, 1984, and the qualifying round on August 4, 1984, with the qualification mark set at 83.00 metres.
These are the official results of the Men's javelin throw event at the 1998 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary. There were a total number of 26 participating athletes. The final was held on 23 August 1998, two days after the qualification round where the mark was set at 82.00 metres. Title defender Steve Backley from Great Britain won the title for a third time in a row, setting a new championship record in the final round: 89.72 metres.
The Women's Javelin Throw event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California had an entry list of 29 competitors, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Monday August 6, 1984. The top 12 and ties, and all those reaching 60.00 metres advanced to the final. All results were made with a rough surfaced javelin.
The Women's Javelin Throw event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had an entry list of 22 competitors, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Friday July 25, 1980. The top 12 and ties, and all those reaching 60.00 metres advanced to the final. All results were made with a rough surfaced javelin.
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.
The Men's Javelin throw event at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on September 1 & 3.
The women's javelin throw field event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place on August 31 & September 1. On 11 June 1972 Ewa Gryziecka from Poland broke the javelin throw world record with a throw of 62.70m only to have Ruth Fuchs break that record on the same day with a throw of 65.06m. In 1972 Fuchs was the strong favorite heading in the Olympics. Kate Schmidt took the early lead on the first throw, but this was soon passed by the favorite on the second throw. She ended up topping her own mark two more time in rounds four and five. Fuchs would go one and set the new javelin world record in 1973, 1974 and 1976.
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.
Holly Irene Robinson is a New Zealand para-athlete, primarily competing in the javelin throw. She represented New Zealand at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics, winning silver in 2016 and gold in 2020. At the 2016 Games, she was New Zealand's flagbearer for the opening ceremony.
Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track and field athlete, who is the reigning Olympic champion, World champion and the Diamond League champion in the javelin throw. He is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in his event and the first such Asian to win gold at the World Championship. A Junior Commissioned Officer Subedar (JCO) 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.
The men's javelin throw at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics is being held at the Olympic Stadium on 10 and 12 August.
Michael Shuey is an American track and field athlete competing in the javelin throw. In 2019, he competed in the men's javelin throw at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. He did not qualify to compete in the final.
