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.[1][2]

Javelin throw
at the Olympic Games
The 1948 javelin throw competition, Tapio Rautavaara (FIN)
Overview
SportAthletics
GenderMen and women
Years heldMen: 19082020
Women: 19322020
Olympic record
Men90.57 m Andreas Thorkildsen (2008)
Women71.53 m Osleidys Menéndez (2004)
Reigning champion
Men Neeraj Chopra (IND)
Women Liu Shiying (CHN)

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 edit

Men edit

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1908 London
details
Eric Lemming
  Sweden
Arne Halse
  Norway
Otto Nilsson
  Sweden
1912 Stockholm
details
Eric Lemming
  Sweden
Julius Saaristo
  Finland
Mór Kóczán
  Hungary
1920 Antwerp
details
Jonni Myyrä
  Finland
Urho Peltonen
  Finland
Pekka Johansson
  Finland
1924 Paris
details
Jonni Myyrä
  Finland
Gunnar Lindström
  Sweden
Eugene Oberst
  United States
1928 Amsterdam
details
Erik Lundqvist
  Sweden
Béla Szepes
  Hungary
Olav Sunde
  Norway
1932 Los Angeles
details
Matti Järvinen
  Finland
Matti Sippala
  Finland
Eino Penttilä
  Finland
1936 Berlin
details
Gerhard Stöck
  Germany
Yrjö Nikkanen
  Finland
Kalervo Toivonen
  Finland
1948 London
details
Tapio Rautavaara
  Finland
Steve Seymour
  United States
József Várszegi
  Hungary
1952 Helsinki
details
Cy Young
  United States
Bill Miller
  United States
Toivo Hyytiäinen
  Finland
1956 Melbourne
details
Egil Danielsen
  Norway
Janusz Sidło
  Poland
Viktor Tsybulenko
  Soviet Union
1960 Rome
details
Viktor Tsybulenko
  Soviet Union
Walter Krüger
  United Team of Germany
Gergely Kulcsár
  Hungary
1964 Tokyo
details
Pauli Nevala
  Finland
Gergely Kulcsár
  Hungary
Jānis Lūsis
  Soviet Union
1968 Mexico City
details
Jānis Lūsis
  Soviet Union
Jorma Kinnunen
  Finland
Gergely Kulcsár
  Hungary
1972 Munich
details
Klaus Wolfermann
  West Germany
Jānis Lūsis
  Soviet Union
Bill Schmidt
  United States
1976 Montreal
details
Miklós Németh
  Hungary
Hannu Siitonen
  Finland
Gheorghe Megelea
  Romania
1980 Moscow
details
Dainis Kūla
  Soviet Union
Aleksandr Makarov
  Soviet Union
Wolfgang Hanisch
  East Germany
1984 Los Angeles
details
Arto Härkönen
  Finland
David Ottley
  Great Britain
Kenth Eldebrink
  Sweden
1988 Seoul
details
Tapio Korjus
  Finland
Jan Železný
  Czechoslovakia
Seppo Räty
  Finland
1992 Barcelona
details
Jan Železný
  Czechoslovakia
Seppo Räty
  Finland
Steve Backley
  Great Britain
1996 Atlanta
details
Jan Železný
  Czech Republic
Steve Backley
  Great Britain
Seppo Räty
  Finland
2000 Sydney
details
Jan Železný
  Czech Republic
Steve Backley
  Great Britain
Sergey Makarov
  Russia
2004 Athens
details
Andreas Thorkildsen
  Norway
Vadims Vasiļevskis
  Latvia
Sergey Makarov
  Russia
2008 Beijing
details
Andreas Thorkildsen
  Norway
Ainārs Kovals
  Latvia
Tero Pitkämäki
  Finland
2012 London
details
Keshorn Walcott
  Trinidad and Tobago
Antti Ruuskanen
  Finland
Vítězslav Veselý
  Czech Republic
2016 Rio de Janeiro
details
Thomas Röhler
  Germany
Julius Yego
  Kenya
Keshorn Walcott
  Trinidad and Tobago
2020 Tokyo
details
Neeraj Chopra
  India
Jakub Vadlejch
  Czech Republic
Vítězslav Veselý
  Czech Republic
2024 Paris
details

A YouTube video showcasing all men's javelin throw's Olympic winners can be found here.

Multiple medalists edit

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

Medalists by country edit

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
  • nb The German total includes teams both competing as Germany and the United Team of Germany, but not East or West Germany.

Women edit

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1932 Los Angeles
details
Babe Didrikson
  United States
Ellen Braumüller
  Germany
Tilly Fleischer
  Germany
1936 Berlin
details
Tilly Fleischer
  Germany
Luise Krüger
  Germany
Maria Kwaśniewska
  Poland
1948 London
details
Herma Bauma
  Austria
Kaisa Parviainen
  Finland
Lily Carlstedt
  Denmark
1952 Helsinki
details
Dana Zátopková
  Czechoslovakia
Aleksandra Chudina
  Soviet Union
Yelena Gorchakova
  Soviet Union
1956 Melbourne
details
Inese Jaunzeme
  Soviet Union
Marlene Ahrens
  Chile
Nadezhda Konyayeva
  Soviet Union
1960 Rome
details
Elvīra Ozoliņa
  Soviet Union
Dana Zátopková
  Czechoslovakia
Birutė Kalėdienė
  Soviet Union
1964 Tokyo
details
Mihaela Peneș
  Romania
Márta Rudas
  Hungary
Yelena Gorchakova
  Soviet Union
1968 Mexico City
details
Angéla Németh
  Hungary
Mihaela Peneș
  Romania
Eva Janko
  Austria
1972 Munich
details
Ruth Fuchs
  East Germany
Jacqueline Todten
  East Germany
Kate Schmidt
  United States
1976 Montreal
details
Ruth Fuchs
  East Germany
Marion Becker
  West Germany
Kate Schmidt
  United States
1980 Moscow
details
María Caridad Colón
  Cuba
Saida Gunba
  Soviet Union
Ute Hommola
  East Germany
1984 Los Angeles
details
Tessa Sanderson
  Great Britain
Tiina Lillak
  Finland
Fatima Whitbread
  Great Britain
1988 Seoul
details
Petra Felke
  East Germany
Fatima Whitbread
  Great Britain
Beate Koch
  East Germany
1992 Barcelona
details
Silke Renk
  Germany
Natalya Shikolenko
  Unified Team
Karen Forkel
  Germany
1996 Atlanta
details
Heli Rantanen
  Finland
Louise McPaul
  Australia
Trine Hattestad
  Norway
2000 Sydney
details
Trine Hattestad
  Norway
Mirela Maniani-Tzelili
  Greece
Osleidys Menéndez
  Cuba
2004 Athens
details
Osleidys Menéndez
  Cuba
Steffi Nerius
  Germany
Mirela Maniani
  Greece
2008 Beijing
details
Barbora Špotáková
  Czech Republic
Christina Obergföll
  Germany[3]
Goldie Sayers
  Great Britain
2012 London
details
Barbora Špotáková
  Czech Republic
Christina Obergföll
  Germany
Linda Stahl
  Germany
2016 Rio de Janeiro
details
Sara Kolak
  Croatia
Sunette Viljoen
  South Africa
Barbora Špotáková
  Czech Republic
2020 Tokyo
details
Liu Shiying
  China
Maria Andrejczyk
  Poland
Kelsey-Lee Barber
  Australia
2024 Paris
details

A YouTube video showcasing all women's javelin throw's Olympic winners can be found here.

Multiple medalists edit

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

Medalists by country edit

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

Intercalated Games edit

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
details
  Eric Lemming (SWE)   Knut Lindberg (SWE)   Bruno Söderström (SWE)

Variants edit

1908 freestyle javelin throw edit

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
details
  Eric Lemming (SWE)   Mikhail Dorizas (GRE)   Arne Halse (NOR)

Two-handed javelin throw edit

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
details
  Julius Saaristo (FIN)   Väinö Siikaniemi (FIN)   Urho Peltonen (FIN)

References edit

Participation and athlete data
Olympic record progressions
Specific
  1. ^ Olympic Medalists Men. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
  2. ^ Olympic Medalists Women. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
  3. ^ Mariya Abakumova, from Russia, was disqualified in 2016, after retesting. Sayers was later confirmed as the bronze medalist.
  4. ^ 1906 Athina Summer Games Archived 2013-09-22 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b Eric Lemming Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
  7. ^ Knut Lindberg Archived 2014-08-04 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
  8. ^ Bruno Söderström Archived 2013-12-13 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
  9. ^ Athletics Men's Javelin Throw, Freestyle Medalists Archived 2014-08-04 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
  10. ^ a b 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 edit