Javelin throw at the Olympic Games | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Sport | Athletics |
Gender | Men and women |
Years held | Men: 1908 – 2020 Women: 1932 – 2020 |
Olympic record | |
Men | 90.57 m Andreas Thorkildsen (2008) |
Women | 71.53 m Osleidys Menéndez (2004) |
Reigning champion | |
Men | Neeraj Chopra (IND) |
Women | Liu Shiying (CHN) |
The javelin throw at the Summer Olympics is one of four track and field throwing events held at the multi-sport event. The men's javelin throw has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1908, being the last of the current throwing events to feature at the Olympics after the shot put, discus throw and hammer throw. The women's event was first contested at the 1932 Olympics, becoming the second women's throws event after the discus in 1928. [1] [2]
Two variants of the javelin have featured on the Olympic programme: a freestyle version was first contested at the 1906 Intercalated Games and then again the 1908 London Olympics. A one-off two-handed version was held at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.
A YouTube video showcasing all men's javelin throw's Olympic winners can be found here.
Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jan Železný | Czechoslovakia (TCH) Czech Republic (CZE) | 1988–2000 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
2 | Eric Lemming | Sweden (SWE) | 1908–1912 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Jonni Myyrä | Finland (FIN) | 1920–1924 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
Andreas Thorkildsen | Norway (NOR) | 2004–2008 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
5 | Jānis Lūsis | Soviet Union (URS) | 1964–1972 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
6 | Viktor Tsybulenko | Soviet Union (URS) | 1956–1960 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Keshorn Walcott | Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) | 2012–2016 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
8 | Steve Backley | Great Britain (GBR) | 1992–2000 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
9 | Gergely Kulcsar | Hungary (HUN) | 1960–1968 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Seppo Räty | Finland (FIN) | 1988–1996 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
11 | Sergey Makarov | Russia (RUS) | 2000–2004 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
12 | Vítězslav Veselý | Czech Republic (CZE) | 2012–2020 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Finland (FIN) | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 |
2 | Soviet Union (URS) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
3 | Sweden (SWE) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
4 | Norway (NOR) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
5 | Czech Republic (CZE) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
6 | Germany (GER) [nb] | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
7 | Hungary (HUN) | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
8 | United States (USA) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
9 | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
10 | Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
11 | India (IND) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
West Germany (FRG) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
13 | Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
14 | Latvia (LAT) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
15 | Kenya (KEN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Poland (POL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
17 | Russia (RUS) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
18 | East Germany (GDR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Romania (ROU) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
A YouTube video showcasing all women's javelin throw's Olympic winners can be found here.
Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Barbora Špotáková | Czech Republic (CZE) | 2008–2016 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
2 | Ruth Fuchs | East Germany (GDR) | 1972–1976 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
3 | Dana Zátopková | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 1952–1960 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Mihaela Peneş | Romania (ROU) | 1964–1968 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
5 | Tilly Fleischer | Germany (GER) | 1932–1936 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Trine Hattestad | Norway (NOR) | 1996–2000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
Osleidys Menéndez | Cuba (CUB) | 2000–2004 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
8 | Fatima Whitbread | Great Britain (GBR) | 1984–1988 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Mirela Maniani | Greece (GRE) | 2000–2004 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Christina Obergföll | Germany (GER) | 2008–2012 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
11 | Yelena Gorchakova | Soviet Union (URS) | 1952–1964 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Kate Schmidt | United States (USA) | 1972–1976 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | East Germany (GDR) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
2 | Germany (GER) | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
3 | Soviet Union (URS) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
4 | Cuba (CUB) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Czech Republic (CZE) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
6 | Finland (FIN) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
7 | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
8 | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Hungary (HUN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
Romania (ROU) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
11 | United States (USA) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
12 | Austria (AUT) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Norway (NOR) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
14 | Croatia (CRO) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
China (CHN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
16 | Greece (GRE) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Poland (POL) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
18 | Australia (AUS) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Chile (CHI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Russia (RUS) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
South Africa (RSA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Unified Team (EUN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
West Germany (FRG) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
24 | Denmark (DEN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
The 1906 Intercalated Games were held in Athens and at the time were officially recognised as part of the Olympic Games series, with the intention being to hold a games in Greece in two-year intervals between the internationally held Olympics. However, this plan never came to fruition and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later decided not to recognise these games as part of the official Olympic series. Some sports historians continue to treat the results of these games as part of the Olympic canon. [4]
A men's freestyle javelin event was contested at the 1906 Games – the first time the javelin featured on the Olympic programme. The competition was dominated by Swedish athletes, who took the first four places. [5] Eric Lemming was a comfortable winner by a margin of over eight metres and he would go on to win the first two Olympic titles proper in 1908 and 1912. [6] A 100 metres finalist, Knut Lindberg, was the silver medallist, [7] while the third placer, Bruno Söderström, also won a pole vault medal that year. [8]
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
1906 Athens | Eric Lemming (SWE) | Knut Lindberg (SWE) | Bruno Söderström (SWE) |
Following the freestyle javelin contest at the 1906 Intercalated Games, the event was continued at the 1908 London Olympics in spite of the addition of the standard style javelin as well. Eric Lemming won his second freestyle title, and his first officially recognised Olympics gold, and also won the standard style event as well. [6] The freestyle event was dropped after 1908. [9]
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
1908 London | Eric Lemming (SWE) | Mikhail Dorizas (GRE) | Arne Halse (NOR) |
At the 1912 Stockholm Olympics a two-handed variant of the standard javelin throw competition took place. Each athlete had three attempts using each hand and their score was calculated by adding their best performances for the left and right hands. It featured two rounds, with the top three after the first round receiving a further three attempts with each arm. [10]
Finnish athletes completed a podium sweep as Julius Saaristo, the runner-up in the 1912 standard javelin event, took the gold medal. Eric Lemming, champion in the one-handed event, performed poorly with his left hand and finished in fourth place. [10]
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
1912 Stockholm | Julius Saaristo (FIN) | Väinö Siikaniemi (FIN) | Urho Peltonen (FIN) |
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.
The men's javelin throw was one of six throwing events on the Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme in London. The javelin was required to be held in the middle. The competition was held on 17 July 1908. 16 throwers from six nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.
The men's freestyle javelin throw was one of six throwing events on the Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme in London. The javelin could be held anywhere, as opposed to the standard javelin throw which required the javelin to be held by a grip in the middle. This was the only time such a "freestyle" event was held at the Olympics. The competition was held on 15 July 1908. 33 throwers from nine nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.
Eric Otto Valdemar Lemming was a Swedish track and field athlete who competed at the 1900, 1906, 1908 and 1912 Olympics in a wide variety of events, which mostly involved throwing and jumping. He had his best results in the javelin throw, which he won at the 1906–1912 Games, and in which he set multiple world records between 1899 and 1912. His last record, measured at 62.32 m, was ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations as the first official world record.
Greece competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. 22 competitors, all men, took part in 25 events in five sports. Greek athletes have competed in all Summer Olympic Games.
Venne "Verner" Järvinen was a Finnish track and field athlete, who competed mostly in throwing events. He won the gold medal in the Greek-style discus in the 1906 Intercalated Games, and the bronze in the 1908 Summer Olympics, becoming the first Finnish Olympic medalist in athletics. He won the Finnish championship in Greek style discus three times in 1909–1911 and held the national record in discus and hammer throw.
György Luntzer was a Hungarian track and field athlete and sport wrestler. A three-time Hungarian Athletics Championships winner in the discus throw, he also participated at the 1908 Summer Olympics and the 1912 Summer Olympics, achieving his best result in 1908 by finishing seventh in the discus throw event.
The men's 100 metres competition at the 1906 Intercalated Games was held at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece from 25 to 27 April. A total of 42 athletes from 13 nations competed in the 100 m event.
The 1500 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the first edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 1500 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. The women's event was not introduced until over seventy years later, but it has been a permanent fixture since it was first held in 1972. The Olympics final and the World Athletics Championships final are the most prestigious 1500 m races at an elite level. The competition format comprises three rounds: a heats stage, semi-finals, then a final typically between twelve athletes.
The sprint hurdles at the Summer Olympics have been contested over a variety of distances at the multi-sport event. The men's 110 metres hurdles has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the first edition in 1896. A men's 200 metres hurdles was also briefly held, from 1900 to 1904. The first women's sprint hurdling event was added to the programme at the 1932 Olympics in the form of the 80 metres hurdles. At the 1972 Games the women's distance was extended to the 100 metres hurdles, which is the current international standard.
The shot put at the Summer Olympics is one of four track and field throwing events held at the multi-sport event. The men's shot put has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. The women's event was added to the programme at the 1948 Olympics just over fifty years later.
The discus throw is one of four track and field throwing events held at the Summer Olympics. The men's discus throw has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. The women's event was first contested at the 1928 Olympics, being one of the five athletics events in the inaugural Olympic women's programme.
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.
The pole vault at the Summer Olympics is grouped among the four track and field jumping events held at the multi-sport event. The men's pole vault has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the first Summer Olympics in 1896. The women's event is one of the latest additions to the programme, first being contested at the 2000 Summer Olympics – along with the addition of the hammer throw, this brought the women's field event programme to parity with the men's.
The high jump at the Summer Olympics is grouped among the four track and field jumping events held at the multi-sport event. The men's high jump has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the first Summer Olympics in 1896. The women's high jump was one of five events to feature on the first women's athletics programme in 1928, and it was the only jumping event available to women until 1948, when the long jump was permitted.
The long jump at the Summer Olympics is grouped among the four track and field jumping events held at the multi-sport event. The men's long jump has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the first Summer Olympics in 1896. The women's long jump was introduced over fifty years later in 1948 and was the second Olympic jumping event for women after the high jump, which was added in 1928.
Race walking events at the Summer Olympics have been contested over a variety of distances at the multi-sport event. There were three race walking events in the 2020 Summer Olympics: a men's and a women's 20 kilometres walk, and a men's 50 kilometres walk. The races were held in a final-only format.
Combined events at the Summer Olympics have been contested in several formats at the multi-sport event. There are two combined track and field events in the current Olympic athletics programme: a men's decathlon and a women's heptathlon.
In the sport of athletics, pentathlons have taken various forms over the history of the sport, typically incorporating five track and field events. The only version of the event to remain at a high level of contemporary competition is the women's indoor pentathlon, which is present on the programme for the World Athletics Indoor Championships.