Hammer Throw

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object to be thrown is a heavy steel ball attached to a wire rope, maximum 4 ft (1.22 m) long with a handle on the end of the rope. The name hammer throw is derived from older competitions where in fact a hammer was thrown. Such competitions are still part of the Scottish Highland Games, where the implement used is a steel or lead weight at the end of a cane handle.

Like other throwing events, the competition is decided by who can throw the ball the furthest. Competitors gain maximum distance by swinging the 16 lb (7.257 kg) hammer (8.82 lb or 4 kg for the women's hammer) repeatedly around their head while stationary, and then rotating very quickly with the movement of the hammer before releasing the hammer at the front of the throwing circle.

While the men's hammer throw has been in the Olympic Games since 1900, the IAAF did not start ratifying women's marks until 1995. Women's hammer throw was first included in the Olympics at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, after having been included in the World Championships a year earlier.

Current Records