# Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's javelin throw

The Men's Javelin Throw event at the 1968 Summer Olympics took place on October 15–16 at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario. The qualifying standard was 80 m (262 ft 5+1⁄2 in).

## Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:
| World record | Jānis Lūsis | 91.98 m | Saarijarvi, Finland | June 23, 1968 |
| Olympic record | Egil Danielsen (NOR) | 85.71 m | Melbourne, Australia | November 26, 1956 |

## Results
### Qualifying round

| Rank | Series | Athlete | Nationality | #1 | #2 | #3 | Result | Notes |
| 1 | A | Karl-Åke Nilsson | Sweden | x | x | 84.74 | 84.74 | Q |
| 2 | A | Jānis Lūsis | Soviet Union | 83.68 | | | 83.68 | Q |
| 3 | A | Jorma Kinnunen | Finland | x | 74.16 | 83.16 | 83.16 | Q |
| 4 | B | Walter Pektor | Austria | 82.16 | | | 82.16 | Q |
| 5 | A | Manfred Stolle | East Germany | 81.88 | | | 81.88 | Q |
| 6 | A | Gergely Kulcsár | Hungary | 81.56 | | | 81.56 | Q |
| 7 | A | Mark Murro | United States | 74.14 | 81.14 | | 81.14 | Q |
| 8 | A | Władysław Nikiciuk | Poland | 74.16 | 78.22 | 81.00 | 81.00 | Q |
| 9 | A | Urs von Wartburg | Switzerland | 76.58 | 80.66 | | 80.66 | Q |
| 10 | A | Janusz Sidlo | Poland | 74.90 | 80.12 | | 80.12 | Q |
| 11 | B | Aurelio Janet | Cuba | 80.10 | | | 80.10 | Q |
| 12 | A | Hermann Salomon | West Germany | 79.48 | x | 76.50 | 79.48 | q |
| 13 | A | Rolf Herings | West Germany | 79.08 | 77.00 | 78.70 | 79.08 | |
| 14 | A | Pauli Nevala | Finland | x | 77.90 | x | 77.90 | |
| 15 | A | Mart Paama | Soviet Union | 74.18 | 77.26 | 74.64 | 77.26 | |
| 16 | B | Klaus Wolfermann | West Germany | 75.78 | 71.40 | 75.02 | 75.78 | |
| 17 | B | Miklós Németh | Hungary | 74.56 | 74.82 | 75.50 | 75.50 | |
| 18 | B | Dave Travis | Great Britain | 74.24 | 74.36 | 70.84 | 74.36 | |
| 19 | B | Lode Wyns | Belgium | 73.68 | x | x | 73.68 | |
| 20 | B | Gary Stenlund | United States | 73.52 | 68.88 | 71.44 | 73.52 | |
| 21 | A | Frank Covelli | United States | 70.30 | x | 73.04 | 73.04 | |
| 22 | B | William Heikkila | Canada | 70.10 | 71.20 | 70.78 | 71.20 | |
| 23 | B | Nashatar Singh Sidhu | Malaysia | x | 63.58 | 70.70 | 70.70 | |
| 24 | B | Rolf Hoppe | Chile | 68.32 | 65.82 | 65.86 | 68.32 | |
| 25 | B | Viliame Liga | Fiji | x | 61.62 | 62.32 | 62.32 | |
| 26 | B | Donald Velez | Nicaragua | 48.92 | x | 61.32 | 61.32 | |
| 27 | B | Rolf Bühler | Switzerland | 61.06 | x | x | 61.06 | |
| | B | Samsam Akka | Morocco | | | | DNS | |
| | B | Panagiotis Pierrakos | Greece | | | | DNS | |

### Finals

The eight highest-ranked competitors after three rounds qualified for the final three throws to decide the medals.
| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Result |
| | Jānis Lūsis | Soviet Union | 81.74 | 86.34 | 82.66 | 84.40 | x | 90.10 | 90.10 OR |
| | Jorma Kinnunen | Finland | 86.30 | x | x | 79.00 | 85.82 | 88.58 | 88.58 |
| | Gergely Kulcsár | Hungary | 83.10 | x | 83.82 | 87.06 | 85.14 | 83.40 | 87.06 |
| 4 | Władysław Nikiciuk | Poland | x | 85.70 | 82.24 | x | 82.32 | 80.44 | 85.70 |
| 5 | Manfred Stolle | East Germany | x | 76.86 | 81.52 | 84.42 | x | 79.72 | 84.42 |
| 6 | Karl-Ake Nilsson | Sweden | 83.48 | x | x | x | 76.74 | 79.76 | 83.48 |
| 7 | Janusz Sidło | Poland | 80.00 | 76.36 | 80.58 | 75.50 | 77.86 | 76.46 | 80.58 |
| 8 | Urs von Wartburg | Switzerland | 80.56 | 77.06 | 77.22 | x | x | x | 80.56 |
| 9 | Mark Murro | United States | 80.06 | 80.08 | x | | | | 80.08 |
| 10 | Walter Pektor | Austria | 75.64 | 77.40 | x | | | | 77.40 |
| 11 | Aurelio Janet | Cuba | x | 74.88 | x | | | | 74.88 |
| 12 | Hermann Salomon | West Germany | x | 71.64 | 73.50 | | | | 73.50 |