# 1991 World Championships in Athletics – Women's javelin throw

These are the official results of the Women's Javelin Throw event at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. There were a total of 31 participating athletes, with the final held on Sunday September 1, 1991. All results were made with a rough surfaced javelin.
The winning margin was 10 cm which as of 2024 remains the narrowest winning margin in the women's javelin throw at these championships.

## Medalists

| Gold | Xu Demei PR China (CHN) |
| Silver | Petra Felke-Meier Germany (GER) |
| Bronze | Silke Renk Germany (GER) |

## Schedule

* All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
Qualification Round :
| Group A | Group B |
| 31.08.1991 – 16:30h | 31.08.1991 – 18:00h |
| Final Round ||
| 01.09.1991 – 16:00h ||

## Abbreviations

* All results shown are in metres
| Q | automatic qualification |
| q | qualification by rank |
| DNS | did not start |
| NM | no mark |
| WR | world record |
| AR | area record |
| NR | national record |
| PB | personal best |
| SB | season best |

## Records

Standing records prior to the 1991 World Athletics Championships :
| World Record | Petra Felke-Meier (GDR) | 80.00 m | September 9, 1988 | Potsdam, East Germany |
| Event Record | Fatima Whitbread (GBR) | 76.64 m | September 6, 1987 | Rome, Italy |
| Season Best | Trine Hattestad (NOR) | 71.44 m | August 3, 1991 | Fana, Norway |

## Qualification

* Held on Saturday 1991-08-31
| RANK | GROUP A | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Karen Forkel (GER) | 68.14 m |
| 2. | Xu Demei (CHN) | 65.44 m |
| 3. | Päivi Alafrantti (FIN) | 64.38 m |
| 4. | Anna Verouli (GRE) | 63.02 m |
| 5. | Natalya Shikolenko (URS) | 62.08 m |
| 6. | Heli Rantanen (FIN) | 61.30 m |
| 7. | Antoaneta Todorova (BUL) | 57.42 m |
| 8. | Sharon Gibson (GBR) | 56.64 m |
| 9. | Donna Mayhew (USA) | 56.34 m |
| 10. | Katalin Hartai (HUN) | 55.68 m |
| 11. | Laverne Eve (BAH) | 55.14 m |
| 12. | Akiko Miyajima (JPN) | 52.86 m |
| 13. | Matilda Kisava (TAN) | 52.60 m |
| 14. | Sueli dos Santos (BRA) | 51.20 m |
| — | Nadine Schoellkopf-Auzeil (FRA) | NM |
| — | Isel López (CUB) | NM |
| RANK | GROUP B | DISTANCE |
| 1. | Petra Felke-Meier (GER) | 67.24 m |
| 2. | Trine Solberg-Hattestad (NOR) | 66.92 m |
| 3. | Silke Renk (GER) | 65.24 m |
| 4. | Dulce García (CUB) | 62.18 m |
| 5. | Louise McPaul (AUS) | 61.08 m |
| 6. | Natalya Cherniyenko (URS) | 60.90 m |
| 7. | Karin Smith (USA) | 60.34 m |
| 8. | Genowefa Patla (POL) | 60.18 m |
| 9. | Tiina Lillak (FIN) | 58.42 m |
| 10. | Paula Berry (USA) | 57.94 m |
| 11. | Irina Kostyuchenkova (URS) | 57.60 m |
| 12. | Sun Fei (CHN) | 55.04 m |
| 13. | Kirsten Smith (NZL) | 53.98 m |
| 14. | Íris Grönfeldt (ISL) | 53.92 m |
| 15. | Marieta Riera (VEN) | 50.62 m |

## Final

| Rank | Athlete | Attempts | Attempts | Attempts | Attempts | Attempts | Attempts | Distance |
| Rank | Athlete | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Distance |
| | Xu Demei (CHN) | | | | | | | 68.78 m |
| | Petra Felke-Meier (GER) | | | | | | | 68.68 m |
| | Silke Renk (GER) | | | | | | | 66.80 m |
| 4 | Natalya Cherniyenko (URS) | | | | | | | 65.22 m |
| 5 | Trine Solberg-Hattestad (NOR) | | | | | | | 63.36 m |
| 6 | Louise McPaul (AUS) | | | | | | | 62.34 m |
| 7 | Dulce García (CUB) | | | | | | | 62.68 m |
| 8 | Päivi Alafrantti (FIN) | | | | | | | 62.26 m |
| 9 | Heli Rantanen (FIN) | | | | | | | 60.96 m |
| 10 | Anna Verouli (GRE) | | | | | | | 59.12 m |
| 11 | Natalya Shikolenko (URS) | | | | | | | 58.82 m |
| 12 | Karen Forkel (GER) | | | | | | | 57.90 m |