hammer throw

An athletics field event using a metal sphere weighing 16 lb (7·6 kg), thrown from within the confines of a 7 ft (2·13 m) circle. The ball is attached to a chain at the end of which is a triangular frame gripped by the contestant. In competition, six throws are allowed, the object being to attain a greater distance than anyone else. Because of the dangers, the throwing circle is protected by a wire cage. The current world record is 86·74 m/284 ft 7 in, achieved by Yuriy Sedykh (1955– ) of Russia, in 1986 at Stuttgart, Germany; for women, it is 76·07 m/249 ft 6·8 in, achieved by Mihaela Melinte of Romania, in 1999 at Rüdlingen, Switzerland.

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object to be thrown is a heavy steel ball attached with wire (maximum 4 ft (1.22 m) to a handle. The name hammer throw is derived from older competitions where in fact a hammer was thrown.

Like other throwing events, the competition is decided by who can throw the ball the farthest. Competitors gain maximum distance by winding the 16 lb (7.257 kg) hammer (4 kg or 8.82 lb for the women's hammer) around their head to set up the start of the turns. While the men's hammer throw has been in the Olympic Games since 1900, the IAAF did not start ratifying women's marks until 1995. Women's hammer throw was first included in the Olympics at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, after having been included in the World Championships a year earlier.

The current world record for the men's hammer was set by Yuriy Sedykh who threw 86.74 m at the European athletics championships held in Stuttgart, West Germany in 1986.

The current world record for the women's hammer was set by Tatyana Lysenko who threw 77.06 m in Moscow on 15 July 2005.