Gold medal distances in the javelin throw at the Summer Olympics 1908-2020

The javelin throw was added to the men's Summer Olympic roster in the 1908 Olympic Games in London, while the women's event first appeared in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. As with the discus throw, the javelin appeared in the Ancient Olympic Games, and was contested in two formats; measuring distance and accuracy. The sport was then resurrected in Germany and Scandinavia in the 1870s, and gradually developed into it's current format, with two-handed and freestyle variations of the event passing out of popularity by the 1920s. Today, the restrictions on the javelins are 800 grams in weight and between 2.6 and 2.7 meters in length for men, and 600 grams in weight and between 2.2 and 2.3 meters in length for women. In contrast to other throwing events, there are strict guidelines for the technique used to throw the javelin, as certain experimental and freestyle methods used in the 1950s were seen as a danger to the audience.

Evolution of the javelin

Originally, contestants threw wooden poles (usually made from birch wood) that were fitted with a metal tip. In the 1950s, two brothers from the United States, Bud and Dick Held, developed the Held Javelin, which revolutionized the sport. The Held Javelin had a hollow wooden shaft (later variations were made completely of metal) and flew further than solid wooden javelins. Unfortunately these javelins were less likely to land point first, which created difficulties when measuring distances. Further developments allowed competitors to throw javelins further than ever before, and by 1984 the world record for men had reached 104.8 meters; a distance that created problems for organizers as it was becoming increasingly unsafe to host javelin events in stadiums. In 1986, a number of measures were taken to reposition the javelin's center of gravity, to forbid the use of special paints of holes that would affect aerodynamics, and to increase the likelihood of the javelin landing in the ground.

Records

Due to these restrictions and modifications, all records set before 1986 were nullified. Today, the men's Olympic record is 90.57 meters, and was set by Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen in 2008, while the women's Olympic record of 71.53 meters was set by Cuba's Osleidys Menéndez in 2004. The world records were both set by Czech athletes; Jan Železný set the men's record with a distance of 98.48 meters in 1996, and Barbora Špotáková threw 72.28 meters in 2008 to set the women's record. Jan Železný is also the only Olympian to win three gold medals in the javelin throw, between 1992 and 2000, while three other men and two women have claimed back-to-back golds in the event. Historically, Scandinavian countries have been the most successful in this event, with Finland taking seven golds in the men's event, although German women have won the most medals, with a combined tally of five golds and 18 overall medals.