# Hammer throw

The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin.
The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consists of a metal ball attached by a steel wire to a grip. These three components are each separate and can move independently. Both the size and weight of the ball vary between men's and women's events. The women's hammer weighs 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) for college and professional meets while the men's hammer weighs 7.26 kilograms (16.0 lb).

## History

Tradition traces it to the Tailteann Games in Tara, Ireland, around the year 1830 BC. Some time later the Celtic warrior Culchulainn reputedly took a chariot axle with a wheel still attached, spun it around and hurled it a long way. The wheel was later replaced by a rock with a wooden handle attached. A sledgehammer began to be used for the sport in Scotland and England during the Middle Ages. In current times, the hammer has changed to the more modern 16 lb. ball attached to a wire and a handle, but the Scottish Highland Games still feature the older style of hammer throw with the rock and the solid wood handle.
While the men's hammer throw has been part of the Olympics since 1900, the International Association of Athletics Federations did not start ratifying women's marks until 1995. Women's hammer throw was first included in the Olympics at the 2000 summer games in Sydney, Australia, after having been included in the World Championships a year earlier.

## Competition

The men's hammer weighs 7.26 kilograms (16.0 lb) and the women's weighs 4 kg (8.8 lb), with the wire in either case no more than 122 centimetres (48 in) in length. Like the other throwing events, the competition is decided by who can throw the implement the farthest.
The throwing motion starts with the thrower swinging the hammer back-and-forth about two times to generate momentum. The thrower then makes three, four or (rarely) five full rotations using a complex heel-toe foot movement, spinning the hammer in a circular path and increasing its angular velocity with each rotation. Rather than spinning the hammer horizontally, it is instead spun in a plane that angles up towards the direction in which it will be launched. The thrower releases the hammer as its velocity is upward and toward the target.
Throws are made from a throwing circle. The thrower is not allowed to step outside the throwing circle before the hammer has landed and may only enter and exit from the rear of the throwing circle. The hammer must land within a 34.92º throwing sector that is centered on the throwing circle. The sector angle was chosen because it provides a sector whose bounds are easy to measure and lay out on a field (10 metres out from the center of the ring, 6 metres across). A violation of the rules results in a foul and the throw not being counted.
As of 2023 the men's hammer world record is held by Yuriy Sedykh, who threw 86.74 m (284 ft 6+3⁄4 in) at the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart, West Germany on 30 August. The world record for the women's hammer is held by Anita Włodarczyk, who threw 82.98 m (272 ft 2+3⁄4 in) during the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial on 28 August 2016. Sedykh's 1986 world record has been noted for its longevity, and for dating from "a time when track and field was starting to realize the scale of performance-enhancing drug use" (AP). According to Russian doping whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, Sedykh was a heavy user of steroids, which Sedykh denied.
The throwing distance depends on the velocity and height at which the hammer is released, but also on other factors that are not under the athlete's control. In particular, Earth's rotation affects it via the location's latitude (due to the centrifugal force, the hammer will fly a bit further in a location closer to the equator) and to a lesser extent also via the throw's azimuth (i.e. its compass direction, due to Coriolis forces). According to a 2023 study, such effects are large enough that the top 20 world-record rankings for both men and women at the time could somewhat change if they were adjusted for latitude and azimuth.

## Safety issues

Hammer throwing has been described as involving "inherent danger [...]. Athletes, coaches, and spectators participating in the event are at risk; steel hammers [...] are hurled through the air at great speeds, [travel] far distances, and [are] sometimes difficult to spot in flight." For example, hammer throws resulted in four deaths in Europe in 2000 alone, and have caused deaths and permanent brain damage injuries in the United States too.
To mitigate such risks, a C-shaped "hammer cage" was introduced, which is built around the throwing circle, preventing the hammer from flying off in unwanted directions. In 2004, the IAAF changed its rules to increase the mandatory height of hammer cages to 10m and reduce their "danger zone" angle to around 53°. The change also moved the cage gates further away from the throwing circle, thus reducing the risk of a misdirected hammer bouncing back on the thrower.

## All-time top 25

* Tables show data for two definitions of "Top 25" - the top 25 hammer throw marks and the top 25 athletes:
* - denotes top performance for athletes in the top 25 hammer throw marks
* - denotes lesser performances, still in the top 25 hammer throw marks, by repeat athletes
* - denotes top performance (only) for other top 25 athletes who fall outside the top 25 hammer throw marks

### Men

* Correct as of April 2024.
| Ath.# | Perf.# | Mark | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place |
| 1 | 1 | 86.74 m (284 ft 6 in) | Yuriy Sedykh | Soviet Union | 30 August 1986 | Stuttgart |
| | 2 | 86.66 m (284 ft 3 in) | Sedykh #2 | | 22 June 1986 | Tallinn |
| | 3 | 86.34 m (283 ft 3 in) | Sedykh #3 | | 3 July 1984 | Cork |
| 2 | 4 | 86.04 m (282 ft 3 in) | Sergey Litvinov | Soviet Union | 3 July 1986 | Dresden |
| | 5 | 85.74 m (281 ft 3 in) | Litvinov #2 | | 30 August 1986 | Stuttgart |
| | 6 | 85.68 m (281 ft 1 in) | Sedykh #4 | | 11 August 1986 | Budapest |
| | 7 | 85.60 m (280 ft 10 in) | Sedykh #5 | | 13 July 1984 | London |
| | 7 | 85.60 m (280 ft 10 in) | Sedykh #6 | | 17 August 1984 | Moscow |
| | 9 | 85.20 m (279 ft 6 in) | Litvinov #3 | | 3 July 1984 | Cork |
| | 10 | 85.14 m (279 ft 3 in) | Litvinov #4 | | 11 July 1986 | London |
| | 10 | 85.14 m (279 ft 3 in) | Sedykh #7 | | 4 September 1988 | Moscow |
| | 12 | 85.02 m (278 ft 11 in) | Sedykh #8 | | 20 August 1984 | Budapest |
| | 13 | 84.92 m (278 ft 7 in) | Sedykh #9 | | 3 July 1986 | Dresden |
| 3 | 14 | 84.90 m (278 ft 6 in) | Vadim Devyatovskiy | Belarus | 21 July 2005 | Minsk |
| | 15 | 84.88 m (278 ft 5 in) | Litvinov #5 | | 10 September 1986 | Rome |
| 4 | 16 | 84.86 m (278 ft 4 in) | Koji Murofushi | Japan | 29 June 2003 | Prague |
| | 17 | 84.80 m (278 ft 2 in) | Litvinov #6 | | 26 September 1988 | Seoul |
| | 18 | 84.72 m (277 ft 11 in) | Sedykh #10 | | 9 July 1986 | Moscow |
| | 19 | 84.64 m (277 ft 8 in) | Litvinov #7 | | 9 July 1986 | Moscow |
| 5 | 20 | 84.62 m (277 ft 7 in) | Igor Astapkovich | Belarus | 6 June 1992 | Seville |
| | 21 | 84.60 m (277 ft 6 in) | Sedykh #11 | | 14 September 1984 | Tokyo |
| | 22 | 84.58 m (277 ft 5 in) | Sedykh #12 | | 8 June 1986 | Leningrad |
| 6 | 23 | 84.51 m (277 ft 3 in) | Ivan Tsikhan | Belarus | 9 July 2008 | Grodno |
| 7 | 24 | 84.48 m (277 ft 1 in) | Igor Nikulin | Soviet Union | 12 July 1990 | Lausanne |
| | 25 | 84.46 m (277 ft 1 in) | Sedykh #13 | | 14 September 1988 | Vladivostok |
| | 25 | 84.46 m (277 ft 1 in) | Tsikhan #2 | | 7 May 2004 | Minsk |
| 8 | | 84.40 m (276 ft 10 in) | Jüri Tamm | Soviet Union | 9 September 1984 | Banská Bystrica |
| 9 | | 84.38 m (276 ft 10 in) | Ethan Katzberg | Canada | 20 April 2024 | Nairobi |
| 10 | | 84.19 m (276 ft 2 in) | Adrián Annus | Hungary | 10 August 2003 | Szombathely |
| 11 | | 83.93 m (275 ft 4 in) | Paweł Fajdek | Poland | 9 August 2015 | Szczecin |
| 12 | | 83.68 m (274 ft 6 in) | Tibor Gécsek | Hungary | 19 September 1998 | Zalaegerszeg |
| 13 | | 83.46 m (273 ft 9 in) | Andrey Abduvaliyev | Soviet Union | 26 May 1990 | Adler |
| 14 | | 83.43 m (273 ft 8 in) | Aleksey Zagornyi | Russia | 10 February 2002 | Adler |
| 15 | | 83.40 m (273 ft 7 in) | Ralf Haber | East Germany | 16 May 1988 | Athens |
| 16 | | 83.38 m (273 ft 6 in) | Szymon Ziółkowski | Poland | 5 August 2001 | Edmonton |
| 17 | | 83.30 m (273 ft 3 in) | Olli-Pekka Karjalainen | Finland | 14 July 2004 | Lahti |
| 18 | | 83.04 m (272 ft 5 in) | Heinz Weis | Germany | 29 June 1997 | Frankfurt |
| 19 | | 83.00 m (272 ft 3 in) | Balázs Kiss | Hungary | 4 June 1998 | Saint-Denis |
| 20 | | 82.78 m (271 ft 7 in) | Karsten Kobs | Germany | 26 June 1999 | Dortmund |
| 21 | | 82.71 m (271 ft 4 in) | Rudy Winkler | United States | 20 June 2021 | Eugene |
| 22 | | 82.69 m (271 ft 3 in) | Krisztián Pars | Hungary | 16 August 2014 | Zürich |
| 23 | | 82.64 m (271 ft 1 in) | Günther Rodehau | East Germany | 3 August 1985 | Dresden |
| 24 | | 82.62 m (271 ft 0 in) | Sergey Kirmasov | Russia | 30 May 1998 | Bryansk |
| 24 | | 82.62 m (271 ft 0 in) | Andriy Skvaruk | Ukraine | 27 April 2002 | Kyiv |

#### Annulled marks

* Ivan Tsikhan of Belarus also threw 86.73 in Brest on 3 July 2005. This performance was annulled due to doping offences.

### Women

* Correct as of May 2024.
| Ath.# | Perf.# | Mark | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place |
| 1 | 1 | 82.98 m (272 ft 2 in) | Anita Włodarczyk | Poland | 28 August 2016 | Warsaw |
| | 2 | 82.87 m (271 ft 10 in) | Włodarczyk #2 | | 29 July 2017 | Władysławowo |
| | 3 | 82.29 m (269 ft 11 in) | Włodarczyk #3 | | 15 August 2016 | Rio de Janeiro |
| | 4 | 81.08 m (266 ft 0 in) | Włodarczyk #4 | | 1 August 2015 | Władysławowo |
| | 5 | 80.85 m (265 ft 3 in) | Włodarczyk #5 | | 27 August 2015 | Beijing |
| | 6 | 80.79 m (265 ft 0 in) | Włodarczyk #6 | | 23 July 2017 | Białystok |
| 2 | 7 | 80.31 m (263 ft 5 in) | DeAnna Price | United States | 26 June 2021 | Eugene |
| | 8 | 80.26 m (263 ft 3 in) | Włodarczyk #7 | | 12 July 2016 | Władysławowo |
| 3 | 9 | 80.16 m (262 ft 11 in) | Brooke Andersen | United States | 20 May 2023 | Tucson |
| | 10 | 79.92 m (262 ft 2 in) | Andersen #2 | | 4 May 2024 | Tucson |
| | 11 | 79.80 m (261 ft 9 in) | Włodarczyk #8 | | 15 August 2017 | Warsaw |
| | 11 | 79.80 m (261 ft 9 in) | Andersen #3 | | 20 April 2023 | Charlottesville |
| | 13 | 79.73 m (261 ft 6 in) | Włodarczyk #9 | | 6 May 2017 | Doha |
| | 14 | 79.72 m (261 ft 6 in) | Włodarczyk #10 | | 27 June 2017 | Ostrava |
| | 15 | 79.61 m (261 ft 2 in) | Włodarczyk #11 | | 18 June 2016 | Szczecin |
| | 16 | 79.59 m (261 ft 1 in) | Włodarczyk #12 | | 22 July 2018 | Lublin |
| | 17 | 79.58 m (261 ft 1 in) | Włodarczyk #13 | | 31 August 2014 | Berlin |
| | 18 | 79.48 m (260 ft 9 in) | Włodarczyk #14 | | 21 May 2016 | Halle |
| | 19 | 79.45 m (260 ft 7 in) | Włodarczyk #15 | | 29 May 2016 | Forbach |
| 4 | 20 | 79.42 m (260 ft 6 in) | Betty Heidler | Germany | 21 May 2011 | Halle |
| | 21 | 79.02 m (259 ft 3 in) | Andersen #4 | | 30 April 2022 | Tucson |
| | 22 | 78.96 m (259 ft 0 in) | Andersen #5 | | 17 July 2022 | Eugene |
| | 23 | 78.94 m (258 ft 11 in) | Włodarczyk #16 | | 12 August 2018 | Berlin |
| | 24 | 78.79 m (258 ft 5 in) | Andersen #6 | | 6 June 2023 | Bydgoszcz |
| | 25 | 78.76 m (258 ft 4 in) | Włodarczyk #17 | | 15 August 2014 | Zürich |
| 5 | | 78.62 m (257 ft 11 in) | Camryn Rogers | Canada | 26 May 2023 | Westwood |
| 6 | | 78.51 m (257 ft 6 in) | Tatyana Lysenko | Russia | 5 July 2012 | Cheboksary |
| 7 | | 78.00 m (255 ft 10 in) | Janee' Kassanavoid | United States | 21 May 2022 | Tucson |
| 8 | | 77.78 m (255 ft 2 in) | Gwen Berry | United States | 8 June 2018 | Chorzów |
| 9 | | 77.68 m (254 ft 10 in) | Wang Zheng | China | 29 March 2014 | Chengdu |
| 10 | | 77.33 m (253 ft 8 in) | Zhang Wenxiu | China | 28 September 2014 | Incheon |
| 11 | | 77.32 m (253 ft 8 in) | Aksana Miankova | Belarus | 29 June 2008 | Minsk |
| 12 | | 77.26 m (253 ft 5 in) | Gulfiya Agafonova | Russia | 12 June 2006 | Tula |
| 13 | | 77.13 m (253 ft 0 in) | Oksana Kondratyeva | Russia | 30 June 2013 | Zhukovskiy |
| 14 | | 77.10 m (252 ft 11 in) | Hanna Skydan | Azerbaijan | 23 August 2023 | Budapest |
| 15 | | 76.90 m (252 ft 3 in) | Martina Hrašnová | Slovakia | 16 May 2009 | Trnava |
| 16 | | 76.85 m (252 ft 1 in) | Malwina Kopron | Poland | 26 August 2017 | Taipei City |
| 17 | | 76.83 m (252 ft 0 in) | Kamila Skolimowska | Poland | 11 May 2007 | Doha |
| 18 | | 76.72 m (251 ft 8 in) | Mariya Bespalova | Russia | 23 June 2012 | Zhukovsky |
| 19 | | 76.66 m (251 ft 6 in) | Volha Tsander | Belarus | 21 July 2005 | Minsk |
| 20 | | 76.63 m (251 ft 4 in) | Yekaterina Khoroshikh | Russia | 24 June 2006 | Zhukovsky |
| 21 | | 76.62 m (251 ft 4 in) | Yipsi Moreno | Cuba | 9 September 2008 | Zagreb |
| 22 | | 76.56 m (251 ft 2 in) | Alena Matoshka | Belarus | 12 June 2012 | Minsk |
| 23 | | 76.35 m (250 ft 5 in) | Joanna Fiodorow | Poland | 28 September 2019 | Doha |
| 24 | | 76.33 m (250 ft 5 in) | Darya Pchelnik | Belarus | 29 June 2008 | Minsk |
| 25 | | 76.26 m (250 ft 2 in) | Hanna Malyshik | Belarus | 27 April 2018 | Brest |

#### Annulled marks

The following athletes had their performances (over 77.00 m) annulled due to doping offences:
* Tatyana Lysenko (Russia) 78.80 (2013) and 78.15 (2013).
* Aksana Miankova (Belarus) 78.69 and 78.19 (both 2012).
* Gulfiya Agafonova (Russia) 77.36 (2007).

## Olympic medalists
### Men

| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |

### Women

| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |

## World Championships medalists
### Men

| Championships | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1983 Helsinki details | Sergey Litvinov (URS) | Yuriy Sedykh (URS) | Zdzisław Kwaśny (POL) |
| 1987 Rome details | Sergey Litvinov (URS) | Jüri Tamm (URS) | Ralf Haber (GDR) |
| 1991 Tokyo details | Yuriy Sedykh (URS) | Igor Astapkovich (URS) | Heinz Weis (GER) |
| 1993 Stuttgart details | Andrey Abduvaliyev (TJK) | Igor Astapkovich (BLR) | Tibor Gécsek (HUN) |
| 1995 Gothenburg details | Andrey Abduvaliyev (TJK) | Igor Astapkovich (BLR) | Tibor Gécsek (HUN) |
| 1997 Athens details | Heinz Weis (GER) | Andriy Skvaruk (UKR) | Vasiliy Sidorenko (RUS) |
| 1999 Seville details | Karsten Kobs (GER) | Zsolt Németh (HUN) | Vladyslav Piskunov (UKR) |
| 2001 Edmonton details | Szymon Ziółkowski (POL) | Koji Murofushi (JPN) | Ilya Konovalov (RUS) |
| 2003 Saint-Denis details | Ivan Tsikhan (BLR) | Adrián Annus (HUN) | Koji Murofushi (JPN) |
| 2005 Helsinki details | Szymon Ziółkowski (POL) | Markus Esser (GER) | Olli-Pekka Karjalainen (FIN) |
| 2007 Osaka details | Ivan Tsikhan (BLR) | Primož Kozmus (SLO) | Libor Charfreitag (SVK) |
| 2009 Berlin details | Primož Kozmus (SLO) | Szymon Ziółkowski (POL) | Aleksey Zagornyi (RUS) |
| 2011 Daegu details | Koji Murofushi (JPN) | Krisztián Pars (HUN) | Primož Kozmus (SLO) |
| 2013 Moscow details | Paweł Fajdek (POL) | Krisztián Pars (HUN) | Lukáš Melich (CZE) |
| 2015 Beijing details | Paweł Fajdek (POL) | Dilshod Nazarov (TJK) | Wojciech Nowicki (POL) |
| 2017 London details | Paweł Fajdek (POL) | Valeriy Pronkin (ANA) | Wojciech Nowicki (POL) |
| 2019 Doha details | Paweł Fajdek (POL) | Quentin Bigot (FRA) | Bence Halász (HUN) Wojciech Nowicki (POL) |
| 2022 Eugene details | Paweł Fajdek (POL) | Wojciech Nowicki (POL) | Eivind Henriksen (NOR) |
| 2023 Budapest details | Ethan Katzberg (CAN) | Wojciech Nowicki (POL) | Bence Halász (HUN) |

#### Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Poland (POL) | 7 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
| 2 | Soviet Union (URS) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Belarus (BLR) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Germany (GER) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Tajikistan (TJK) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Japan (JPN) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Slovenia (SLO) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | Canada (CAN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 10 | Ukraine (UKR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 | France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | Authorised Neutral Athletes (ANA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Russia (RUS) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 13 | Czech Republic (CZE) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | East Germany (GDR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Finland (FIN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Norway (NOR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Slovakia (SVK) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (17 entries) | Totals (17 entries) | 19 | 19 | 20 | 58 |

### Women

* v
* t
* e
| Championships | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1999 Seville details | Mihaela Melinte (ROU) | Olga Kuzenkova (RUS) | Lisa Misipeka (ASA) |
| 2001 Edmonton details | Yipsi Moreno (CUB) | Olga Kuzenkova (RUS) | Bronwyn Eagles (AUS) |
| 2003 Saint-Denis details | Yipsi Moreno (CUB) | Olga Kuzenkova (RUS) | Manuela Montebrun (FRA) |
| 2005 Helsinki details | Yipsi Moreno (CUB) | Tatyana Lysenko (RUS) | Manuela Montebrun (FRA) |
| 2007 Osaka details | Betty Heidler (GER) | Yipsi Moreno (CUB) | Zhang Wenxiu (CHN) |
| 2009 Berlin details | Anita Włodarczyk (POL) | Betty Heidler (GER) | Martina Hrašnová (SVK) |
| 2011 Daegu details | Tatyana Lysenko (RUS) | Betty Heidler (GER) | Zhang Wenxiu (CHN) |
| 2013 Moscow details | Anita Włodarczyk (POL) | Zhang Wenxiu (CHN) | Wang Zheng (CHN) |
| 2015 Beijing details | Anita Włodarczyk (POL) | Zhang Wenxiu (CHN) | Alexandra Tavernier (FRA) |
| 2017 London details | Anita Włodarczyk (POL) | Wang Zheng (CHN) | Malwina Kopron (POL) |
| 2019 Doha details | DeAnna Price (USA) | Joanna Fiodorow (POL) | Wang Zheng (CHN) |
| 2022 Eugene details | Brooke Andersen (USA) | Camryn Rogers (CAN) | Janee' Kassanavoid (USA) |
| 2023 Budapest details | Camryn Rogers (CAN) | Janee' Kassanavoid (USA) | DeAnna Price (USA) |