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Hammer throw

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This article is about the event in regular track and field competitions. For the similar Highland games event with a different type of hammer, see Scottish hammer throw.

Template:Infobox athletics event

The hammer throw (Abbreviated as HT[1]) 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 men's hammer weighs 7.26 kilograms (16 lb) for college and professional meets; the women's hammer weighs 4 kilograms (8.8 lb).[2]

History

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Tradition traces it to the Tailteann Games in Tara, Ireland, around the year 1830 BC.[3] 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.[2] The wheel was later replaced by a rock with a wooden handle attached.[2] A sledgehammer began to be used for the sport in Scotland and England during the Middle Ages.[2] In current times, the hammer has changed to the more modern 16 lb. ball attached to a wire and a handle, but the Scottish hammer throw as seen in 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.[citation needed]

Competition

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The men's hammer weighs 7.26 kilograms (16 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.[2] 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.[4]

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).[2][5] A violation of the rules results in a foul and the throw not being counted.[citation needed]

As of 2025 the men's hammer world record is held by Yuriy Sedykh, who threw Template:T&Fcalc 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 Template:T&Fcalc during the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial on 28 August 2016.[citation needed] 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).[6] According to Russian doping whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, Sedykh was a heavy user of steroids, which Sedykh denied.[6]

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.[7] 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).[7] 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.[7]

Safety issues

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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."[8] For example, hammer throws resulted in four deaths in Europe in 2000 alone,[9] and have caused deaths and permanent brain damage injuries in the United States too.[8]

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.[8] 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°.[8] 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.[10]

Area records

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Template:Table alignment

Area Men Women
Mark Season Athlete Mark Season Athlete
World Template:T&FcalcR 1986 Template:Flagathlete Template:T&FcalcR 2016 Template:Flagathlete
Area records
Africa (records) Template:T&FcalcR 2014 Template:Flagathlete Template:T&FcalcR 2026 Template:Flagathlete
Asia (records) Template:T&FcalcR 2003 Template:Flagathlete Template:T&FcalcR 2026 Template:Flagathlete
Europe (records) Template:T&FcalcR 1986 Template:Flagathlete Template:T&FcalcR 2016 Template:Flagathlete
North, Central America
and Caribbean (records) 		Template:T&FcalcR 2025 Template:Flagathlete Template:T&FcalcR 2026 Template:Flagathlete
Oceania (records) Template:T&FcalcR 2002 Template:Flagathlete Template:T&FcalcR 2021 Template:Flagathlete
South America (records) Template:T&FcalcR 2016 Template:Flagathlete Template:T&FcalcR 2010 Template:Flagathlete

All-time top 25

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See also: Men's hammer throw world record progression and Women's hammer throw world record progression
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

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  • Correct as of September 2025.[13]
Ath.# Perf.# Mark Athlete Nation Date Place Template:Refh
1 1 Template:T&FcalcR Yuriy Sedykh  Soviet Union 30 August 1986 Stuttgart
2 Template:T&FcalcR Sedykh #2 22 June 1986 Tallinn
3 Template:T&FcalcR Sedykh #3 3 July 1984 Cork
2 4 Template:T&FcalcR Sergey Litvinov  Soviet Union 3 July 1986 Dresden
5 Template:T&FcalcR Litvinov #2 30 August 1986 Stuttgart
6 Template:T&FcalcR Sedykh #4 11 August 1986 Budapest
7 Template:T&FcalcR Sedykh #5 13 July 1984 London
Sedykh #6 17 August 1984 Moscow
9 Template:T&FcalcR Litvinov #3 3 July 1984 Cork
10 Template:T&FcalcR Litvinov #4 11 July 1986 London
Sedykh #7 4 September 1988 Moscow
12 Template:T&FcalcR Sedykh #8 20 August 1984 Budapest
13 Template:T&FcalcR Sedykh #9 3 July 1986 Dresden
3 14 Template:T&FcalcR Vadim Devyatovskiy File:Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus 21 July 2005 Minsk
15 Template:T&FcalcR Litvinov #5 10 September 1986 Rome
4 16 Template:T&FcalcR Koji Murofushi  Japan 29 June 2003 Prague
17 Template:T&FcalcR Litvinov #6 26 September 1988 Seoul
18 Template:T&FcalcR Sedykh #10 9 July 1986 Moscow
5 19 Template:T&FcalcR Ethan Katzberg Error creating thumbnail:  Canada 16 September 2025 Tokyo [14]
20 Template:T&FcalcR Litvinov #7 9 July 1986 Moscow
6 21 Template:T&FcalcR Igor Astapkovich File:Flag of Belarus (1918, 1991–1995).svg Belarus 6 June 1992 Seville
22 Template:T&FcalcR Sedykh #11 14 September 1984 Tokyo
23 Template:T&FcalcR Sedykh #12 8 June 1986 Leningrad
7 24 Template:T&FcalcR Ivan Tsikhan File:Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus 9 July 2008 Grodno
8 25 Template:T&FcalcR Igor Nikulin  Soviet Union 12 July 1990 Lausanne
9 Template:T&FcalcR Jüri Tamm  Soviet Union 9 September 1984 Banská Bystrica
10 Template:T&FcalcR Adrián Annus File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary 10 August 2003 Szombathely
11 Template:T&FcalcR Paweł Fajdek File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland 9 August 2015 Szczecin [15]
12 Template:T&FcalcR Tibor Gécsek File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary 19 September 1998 Zalaegerszeg
13 Template:T&FcalcR Andrey Abduvaliyev  Soviet Union 26 May 1990 Adler
14 Template:T&FcalcR Aleksey Zagornyi File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia 10 February 2002 Adler
15 Template:T&FcalcR Ralf Haber File:Flag of East Germany.svg East Germany 16 May 1988 Athens
16 Template:T&FcalcR Szymon Ziółkowski File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland 5 August 2001 Edmonton
17 Template:T&FcalcR Olli-Pekka Karjalainen File:Flag of Finland.svg Finland 14 July 2004 Lahti
18 Template:T&FcalcR Bence Halasz File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary 12 August 2025 Budapest [16]
19 Template:T&FcalcR Rudy Winkler  United States 5 July 2025 Eugene [17]
20 Template:T&FcalcR Heinz Weis Template:GER 29 June 1997 Frankfurt
21 Template:T&FcalcR Balázs Kiss File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary 4 June 1998 Saint-Denis
22 Template:T&FcalcR Karsten Kobs Template:GER 26 June 1999 Dortmund
23 Template:T&FcalcR Merlin Hummel Template:GER 16 September 2025 Tokyo [14]
24 Template:T&FcalcR Krisztián Pars File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary 16 August 2014 Zürich
25 Template:T&FcalcR Günther Rodehau File:Flag of East Germany.svg East Germany 3 August 1985 Dresden

Annulled marks

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Women

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  • Correct as of May 2026.[18]
Ath.# Perf.# Mark Athlete Nation Date Place Template:Refh
1 1 Template:T&FcalcR Anita Włodarczyk File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland 28 August 2016 Warsaw [19]
2 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #2 29 July 2017 Władysławowo
3 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #3 15 August 2016 Rio de Janeiro
2 4 Template:T&FcalcR Camryn Rogers Error creating thumbnail:  Canada 2 April 2026 Austin [20]
5 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #4 1 August 2015 Władysławowo
6 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #5 27 August 2015 Beijing
7 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #6 23 July 2017 Białystok
8 Template:T&FcalcR Rogers #2 15 September 2025 Tokyo [21]
3 9 Template:T&FcalcR DeAnna Price  United States 26 June 2021 Eugene [22]
10 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #7 12 July 2016 Władysławowo
4 11 Template:T&FcalcR Brooke Andersen  United States 20 May 2023 Tucson [23]
12 Template:T&FcalcR Rogers #3 24 April 2026 Nairobi [24]
13 Template:T&FcalcR Andersen #2 4 May 2024 Tucson [25]
14 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #8 15 August 2017 Warsaw
Andersen #3 20 April 2023 Charlottesville [26]
16 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #9 6 May 2017 Doha
17 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #10 27 June 2017 Ostrava
18 Template:T&FcalcR Rogers #4 10 April 2026 Ramona [27]
19 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #11 18 June 2016 Szczecin
20 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #12 22 July 2018 Lublin
21 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #13 31 August 2014 Berlin
22 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #14 21 May 2016 Halle
23 Template:T&FcalcR Włodarczyk #15 29 May 2016 Forbach
5 24 Template:T&FcalcR Betty Heidler Template:GER 21 May 2011 Halle
25 Template:T&FcalcR Andersen #4 24 May 2025 Tucson [28]
6 Template:T&FcalcR Rachel Richeson  United States 23 May 2026 Tucson [29]
7 Template:T&FcalcR Tatyana Lysenko File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia 5 July 2012 Cheboksary
8 Template:T&FcalcR Zhao Jie  China 3 April 2026 Chengdu [30]
9 Template:T&FcalcR Janee' Kassanavoid  United States 21 May 2022 Tucson [31]
10 Template:T&FcalcR Gwen Berry  United States 8 June 2018 Chorzów [32]
11 Template:T&FcalcR Wang Zheng  China 29 March 2014 Chengdu
12 Template:T&FcalcR Anastasiya Maslova File:Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus 7 May 2026 Brest [33]
13 Template:T&FcalcR Anthonett Nabwe File:Flag of Liberia.svg Liberia 23 April 2026 Des Moines [34]
14 Template:T&FcalcR Zhang Wenxiu  China 28 September 2014 Incheon
15 Template:T&FcalcR Aksana Miankova File:Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus 29 June 2008 Minsk
16 Template:T&FcalcR Gulfiya Agafonova File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia 12 June 2006 Tula
17 Template:T&FcalcR Zhang Jiale  China 2 August 2025 Quzhou [35]
18 Template:T&FcalcR Krista Tervo File:Flag of Finland.svg Finland 11 June 2025 Lahti [36]
19 Template:T&FcalcR Oksana Kondratyeva File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia 30 June 2013 Zhukovskiy
20 Template:T&FcalcR Hanna Skydan File:Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Azerbaijan 23 August 2023 Budapest [37]
21 Template:T&FcalcR Silja Kosonen File:Flag of Finland.svg Finland 15 March 2025 Nicosia [38]
22 Template:T&FcalcR Martina Hrašnová File:Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia 16 May 2009 Trnava
23 Template:T&FcalcR Malwina Kopron File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland 26 August 2017 Taipei City [39]
24 Template:T&FcalcR Kamila Skolimowska File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland 11 May 2007 Doha
25 Template:T&FcalcR Mariya Bespalova File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia 23 June 2012 Zhukovsky

Annulled marks

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The following athletes had their performances (over 77.00 m) annulled due to doping offences:

Olympic medalists

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Men

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Template:Olympic medalists in men's hammer throw

Women

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Template:Olympic medalists in women's hammer throw

World Championships medalists

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Men

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Template:World Championships in Athletics medalists in men's hammer throw

Women

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Template:World Championships in Athletics medalists in women's hammer throw

World leading marks

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See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ↑ "Terms and Abbreviations". World Athletics. September 2020. Archived from the original on 18 July 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Hammer Throw". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 23 June 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  3. ↑ 'Origins'. Hammer Throw, undated. Retrieved 28 January 2025
  4. ↑ Johannsen, Dana (1 August 2021). "Tokyo 2020: Why the Olympic hammer throw may become a new national obsession". Stuff. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  5. ↑ "Laying Out Sector Angles for the Track and Field Throwing Events" (PDF). USA Track & Field Pacific Northwest. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2022. The shot, discus, hammer & weight throw sector is 34.92º. This angle was chosen due to its simple geometry.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Yuriy Sedykh, hammer world record holder, dies at 66". AP News. 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Horváth, Gábor; Hegedűs, Dénes; Slíz-Balogh, Judit (27 June 2023). "Change of world-record rankings of shot put and hammer throw due to the effects of Earth rotation and athlete's height". Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 10409. Bibcode:2023NatSR..1310409H. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-36665-5. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 10300113 Check |pmc= value (help). PMID 37369722 Check |pmid= value (help). S2CID 259273858 Check |s2cid= value (help).
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Academy, U. S. Sports (9 July 2010). "An Analysis of Hammer Throw Facility Safety Factors in NCAA Division I". The Sport Journal. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  9. ↑ "Catastrophic Injuries Pull Focus On Field Event Safety". Athletic Business. 29 December 2008. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  10. ↑ Laruel, Benoit; Wilson, Denis; Young, Ray (2004). "Hammer throw safety cages". New Studies in Athletics. 19 (1): 47–51. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  11. ↑ "Men's Hammer Throw | Records". worldathletics.org. World Athletics. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Women's Hammer Throw | Records". worldathletics.org. World Athletics. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "All-time men's best hammer throw". IAAF. 7 May 2017. Archived from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Men's Hammer Throw Final Results" (PDF). World Athletics. 16 September 2025. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  15. ↑ Phil Minshull (9 August 2015). "Fajdek throws 83.93m in Szczecin". IAAF. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "Gyulai István Memorial - Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix - Men's Hammer Throw Final". World Athletics. 12 August 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  17. ↑ "Results Hammer Throw Men" (PDF). eugene.diamondleague.com. 5 July 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 July 2025. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  18. ↑ "All-time women's best hammer throw". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  19. ↑ "Wlodarczyk extends hammer world record in Warsaw". IAAF. 28 August 2016. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  20. ↑ "Rogers throws North American hammer record of 81.13m in Austin". World Athletics. 2 April 2026. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  21. ↑ "Women's Hammer Throw Final Results" (PDF). World Athletics. 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  22. ↑ Roy Jordan (27 June 2021). "Holloway, Thomas, Benjamin and Price shine on superb day in Eugene". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  23. ↑ "Track Scoreboard". finishedresults.trackscoreboard.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  24. ↑ "Rogers, Thomas and Pathirage break meeting records in Nairobi". World Athletics. 24 April 2026. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  25. ↑ "Hammer Throw Result". trackscoreboard.com. 4 May 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  26. ↑ "Hammer Throw Result" (PDF). Flash Results. 20 April 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  27. ↑ "Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational". World Athletics. 10 April 2026. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  28. ↑ "Hammer Throw Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  29. ↑ "Hammer Throw Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  30. ↑ "Throws Invitational Meeting 2". World Athletics. 3 April 2026. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  31. ↑ "Kassanavoid climbs to No.6 all time with 78.00m hammer throw". World Athetlics. 22 May 2022. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  32. ↑ Jon Mulkeen (8 June 2018). "Berry and Nowicki topple hammer favourites in Chorzow". IAAF. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  33. ↑ "Hammer Throw Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  34. ↑ "Hammer Throw Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  35. ↑ "Karalis clears 6.08m in Volos as records fall around the world, athletes target Tokyo". worldathletics. 2 August 2025. Archived from the original on 2 August 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  36. ↑ "Women's Hammer Throw Final". World Athletics. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  37. ↑ "Hammer Throw Qualification Results". World Athletics. 23 August 2023. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  38. ↑ "Hammer Throw Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  39. ↑ "Women's Hammer Final Results" (PDF). 2017.taipei. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.[permanent dead link]
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