# Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's javelin throw

The women's javelin throw competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was held at the Olympic Stadium on 16–18 August. Each athlete received three throws in the qualifying round. All who achieved the qualifying distance progressed to the final. Each finalist was allowed three throws in last round, with the top eight athletes after that point being given three further attempts.

## Summary

In the qualifying round, Maria Andrejczyk threw a Polish national record 67.11m, moving her to the # 16 thrower of all time. Of course, several women on that same list also qualified for the final, including world record holder and 2016 non-Russian world leader Barbora Špotáková. Vera Rebrik had thrown 67.30 in February, but Russia was on suspension.
Flor Ruiz started the final round with a 61.54 m. Two throws later Tatsiana Khaladovich raised the stakes to 62.68 m. Two throws later Andrejczyk displaced Ruiz with a 61.92. Sunette Viljoen moved on top with a 64.92 m. Near the top of the second round, Kathryn Mitchell almost matched it with a 64.36 to move into silver position. 2015 World silver medalist Lü Huihui moved into bronze position with a 63.50 m that lasted until the end of the round when two-time defending champion Špotáková moved into the bronze position with a 63.73 m. Khaladovich came back in the third round with a 64.60 m to move into the silver spot. After the field dropped off returning bronze medalist Linda Stahl, 21 year old Sara Kolak threw 66.18 m (217 ft 1 in) to rocket from sixth to first. As second thrower in the fifth round, Andrejczyk threw 64.78 m to leapfrog from seventh to bronze medal position. That only lasted a few throwers until Špotáková threw 2 cm further.
For Kolak, whose previous medal collection included the bronze medal from the 2016 European Championships, it was a new Croatian National Record, beating the 64.30 m she set in qualifying, which beat the 63.50 she threw winning the European bronze. Prior to 2016, her best was still the national record, but was a 57.79 from 2013, improving 8.39 m (27 ft 6 in) in just 5 months. Kolak moved into the #20 position on the all-time list.
The following evening the medals were presented by Li Lingwei, IOC member, China and Alberto Juantorena, Vice President of the IAAF.

## Schedule

All times are Brasília Time (UTC−3).
| Date | Time | Round |
| Tuesday, 16 August 2016 | 20:35 | Qualifications |
| Thursday, 18 August 2016 | 21:10 | Finals |

## Records

Prior to the competition, the existing world record, Olympic record, and world leading mark were as follows:
| World record | Barbora Špotáková (CZE) | 72.28 m | Stuttgart, Germany | 13 September 2008 |
| Olympic record | Osleidys Menéndez (CUB) | 71.53 m | Athens, Greece | 27 August 2004 |
| World leading | Vera Rebrik (RUS) | 67.30 m | Sochi, Russia | 19 February 2016 |
The following national records were established during the competition:
| Country | Athlete | Round | Distance |
| Poland | Maria Andrejczyk (POL) | Qualifying | 67.11 m |
| Croatia | Sara Kolak (CRO) | Qualifying | 64.30 m |
| Croatia | Sara Kolak (CRO) | Final | 66.18 m |

## Results
### Qualifying round

Qualification rule: qualification standard 63.00m (Q) or at least best 12 qualified (q).
| Rank | Group | Name | Nationality | #1 | #2 | #3 | Result | Notes |
| 1 | B | Maria Andrejczyk | Poland | 67.11 | | | 67.11 | Q, NR |
| 2 | B | Barbora Špotáková | Czech Republic | 62.50 | 64.65 | | 64.65 | Q |
| 3 | A | Sara Kolak | Croatia | 55.68 | 55.86 | 64.30 | 64.30 | Q, NR |
| 4 | B | Linda Stahl | Germany | 63.95 | | | 63.95 | Q |
| 5 | A | Tatsiana Khaladovich | Belarus | 63.78 | | | 63.78 | Q |
| 6 | A | Sunette Viljoen | South Africa | 63.54 | | | 63.54 | Q |
| 7 | A | Lü Huihui | China | 63.28 | | | 63.28 | Q |
| 8 | B | Madara Palameika | Latvia | 63.03 | | | 63.03 | Q |
| 9 | A | Flor Ruiz | Colombia | 62.32 | 59.89 | 59.99 | 62.32 | q |
| 10 | A | Christina Obergföll | Germany | 57.75 | 62.18 | x | 62.18 | q |
| 11 | A | Christin Hussong | Germany | 56.19 | 55.58 | 62.17 | 62.17 | q |
| 12 | B | Kathryn Mitchell | Australia | x | 60.05 | 61.63 | 61.63 | q |
| 13 | B | Kara Winger | United States | 61.02 | 57.34 | 60.54 | 61.02 | |
| 14 | A | Sinta Ozoliņa-Kovala | Latvia | 60.92 | 58.08 | x | 60.92 | |
| 15 | B | Li Lingwei | China | 60.91 | 59.30 | 57.87 | 60.91 | |
| 16 | A | Elizabeth Gleadle | Canada | 59.18 | 60.28 | 58.74 | 60.28 | |
| 17 | B | Kateryna Derun | Ukraine | 60.02 | 54.86 | x | 60.02 | |
| 18 | A | Martina Ratej | Slovenia | 59.76 | 58.15 | x | 59.76 | |
| 19 | A | Hanna Hatsko-Fedusova | Ukraine | 58.90 | x | 58.38 | 58.90 | |
| 20 | B | Liina Laasma | Estonia | 58.06 | 56.21 | 56.62 | 58.06 | |
| 21 | B | Yuki Ebihara | Japan | 53.75 | 55.89 | 57.68 | 57.68 | |
| 22 | A | Kim Mickle | Australia | 57.20 | x | 55.93 | 57.20 | |
| 23 | A | Liu Shiying | China | 57.16 | 55.60 | x | 57.16 | |
| 24 | B | Mathilde Andraud | France | 56.61 | 56.01 | 56.13 | 56.61 | |
| 25 | A | Maggie Malone | United States | 56.47 | x | 46.87 | 56.47 | |
| 26 | B | Tatsiana Korzh | Belarus | 49.41 | 53.54 | 56.16 | 56.16 | |
| 27 | A | Brittany Borman | United States | 54.15 | 56.04 | 52.73 | 56.04 | |
| 28 | B | Kelsey-Lee Roberts | Australia | 44.75 | 55.04 | 55.25 | 55.25 | |
| 29 | A | Yulenmis Aguilar | Cuba | 54.84 | x | 54.94 | 54.94 | |
| 30 | B | Ásdís Hjálmsdóttir | Iceland | x | 54.92 | x | 54.92 | |
| 31 | B | Sanni Utriainen | Finland | 53.42 | x | 52.45 | 53.42 | |

### Final

| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | Result | Notes |
| | Sara Kolak | Croatia | 60.89 | 62.95 | 63.00 | 66.18 | x | 59.42 | 66.18 | NR |
| | Sunette Viljoen | South Africa | 64.92 | 61.04 | x | 63.00 | x | x | 64.92 | |
| | Barbora Špotáková | Czech Republic | 60.16 | 63.73 | x | 61.25 | 64.80 | x | 64.80 | |
| 4 | Maria Andrejczyk | Poland | 61.92 | 59.25 | 60.23 | 59.31 | 64.78 | 63.69 | 64.78 | |
| 5 | Tatsiana Khaladovich | Belarus | 62.68 | 60.24 | 64.60 | 60.49 | 63.52 | 64.24 | 64.60 | |
| 6 | Kathryn Mitchell | Australia | x | 64.36 | x | x | 62.20 | 63.02 | 64.36 | |
| 7 | Lü Huihui | China | 60.32 | 63.50 | 59.56 | 64.04 | x | 56.96 | 64.04 | SB |
| 8 | Christina Obergföll | Germany | 60.17 | 62.28 | x | x | x | 62.92 | 62.92 | |
| 9 | Flor Ruiz | Colombia | 61.54 | 58.46 | 59.61 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | 61.54 | |
| 10 | Madara Palameika | Latvia | x | x | 60.14 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | 60.14 | |
| 11 | Linda Stahl | Germany | 58.48 | x | 59.71 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | 59.71 | |
| 12 | Christin Hussong | Germany | 54.99 | 54.47 | 57.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | 57.70 | |