Javelin throw at the Olympics
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.
| Javelin throw at the Olympic Games | |
|---|---|
 The 1948 javelin throw competition, Tapio Rautavaara (FIN) | |
| Overview | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Gender | Men and women |
| Years held | Men: 1908 – 2016 Women: 1932 – 2016 |
| Olympic record | |
| Men | 90.57 m Andreas Thorkildsen (2008) |
| Women | 71.53 m Osleidys Menéndez (2004) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men |  |
| Women |  |
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.
Medalists
Men
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Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan Železný |  | 1988–2000 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Eric Lemming |  | 1908–1912 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jonni Myyrä |  | 1920–1924 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Andreas Thorkildsen |  | 2004–2008 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 5 | Jānis Lūsis |  | 1964–1972 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Viktor Tsybulenko | | 1956–1960 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | Steve Backley |  | 1992–2000 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Gergely Kulcsár |  | 1960–1968 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Seppo Räty | | 1988–1996 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 11 | Sergey Makarov |  | 2000–2004 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 |
| 2 | | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 8 |  | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 9 | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 13 |  | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 16 | | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 17 |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Women
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Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barbora Špotáková | | 2008–2016 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Ruth Fuchs | | 1972–1976 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Dana Zátopková | | 1952–1960 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Mihaela Peneş | | 1964–1968 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 5 | Tilly Fleischer | | 1932–1936 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Trine Hattestad | | 1996–2000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Osleidys Menéndez |  | 2000–2004 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 8 | Fatima Whitbread | | 1984–1988 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Mirela Maniani |  | 2000–2004 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Christina Obergföll | | 2008–2012 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 11 | Yelena Gorchakova | | 1952–1964 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Kate Schmidt | | 1972–1976 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 3 | | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 6 | | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 11 | | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 12 |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 14 | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 21 |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Intercalated Games
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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5] A 100 metres finalist, Knut Lindberg, was the silver medallist,[6] while the third placer, Bruno Söderström, also won a pole vault medal that year.[7]
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1906 Athens |
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Variants
1908 freestyle javelin throw
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.[5] The freestyle event was dropped after 1908.[8]
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 London |
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Two-handed javelin throw
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.[9]
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.[9]
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 Stockholm |
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References
- Participation and athlete data
- Athletics Men's Javelin Throw Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-04-18.
- Athletics Women's Javelin Throw Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-04-18.
- Olympic record progressions
- Mallon, Bill (2012). TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS - OLYMPIC RECORD PROGRESSIONS. Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2014-03-12.
- Specific
- Olympic Medalists Men. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
- Olympic Medalists Women. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
- 1906 Athina Summer Games Archived 2013-09-22 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
- Athletics at the 1906 Athina Summer Games: Men's Javelin Throw, Freestyle Archived 2010-08-05 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
- Eric Lemming Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
- Knut Lindberg Archived 2014-08-04 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
- Bruno Söderström Archived 2013-12-13 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
- Athletics Men's Javelin Throw, Freestyle Medalists Archived 2014-08-04 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
- Athletics at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's Javelin Throw, Both Hands Archived 2010-08-05 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
External links
- IAAF javelin throw homepage
- Official Olympics website
- Olympic athletics records from Track & Field News
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