Martina Hellmann topped her group in the qualifier and her first throw of 71.84m in the final broke Evelin Jahl’s Olympic record set in 1980. But it was Hellmann that reigned supreme and broke the Olympic record twice in the final. The women’s discipline at Seoul 1988 saw fierce competition between two East German athletes - Martina Hellmann and Diana Gansky - as both women crossed the 70m mark. Martina Hellmann (East Germany) - 72.30m at 1988 Seoul Olympics (September 29, 1988) The Lithuanian had originally finished second behind Hungary’s Robert Fazekas but a doping violation from the Hungarian meant Alekna defended his Olympic gold. But Virgilijus Alekna’s first throw (69.89m) in the final broke Reidel’s record. The then Olympic record holder Lars Reidel was also competing at the event. The 6 ft 7 inch Alekna finished second in the qualifying round and continued his impressive run throughout the event. Lithuanian legend Virgilijus Alekna came to Athens in 2004 as the defending Olympic champion and was the top contender, having won the world title in 2003. Virgilijus Alekna (Lithuania) - 69.89m at 2004 Athens Olympics (August 23, 2004) The Cuban’s throw was almost six metres better than the silver medallist. Osleidys Menendez then broke the Olympic record at Athens 2004, with an impressive first throw in the final that reached 71.53m - just one centimetre short of her world record. Osleidys Menendez (Cuba) - 71.53m at 2004 Athens Olympics (August 27, 2004)Ī year after settling for bronze at the Sydney Games in 2000, Cuba’s Osleidys Menendez went on to break the women’s javelin throw world record in 2001, becoming the first female to cross the 70-metre mark with the new javelin specifications. The effort fetched Andreas Thorkildsen his second successive Olympic gold. However, it was the then defending Olympic champion’s fifth throw of 90.57m that broke the eight-year-old record set by Czech legend Jan Zelezny. Norwegian athlete Andreas Thorkildsen won the javelin throw competition at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing with a commanding performance right from the start. Javelin throw Olympic recordsĪndreas Thorkildsen (Norway) - 90.57m at 2008 Beijing Olympics (August 23, 2008) Here, we glance through the Olympic records of the four throwing events.

While discus throw and shot put were part of the inaugural Games in 1896, hammer throw and javelin throw were added to the quadrennial event in 19, respectively.Īs part of the track and field programme, medals will be up for grabs in both men’s and women’s categories of all four events at Tokyo 2020.

Throwing events are among the oldest competitions in the world and consequently found a place in the modern Olympics since the very beginning over a century ago.

Discus throw olympics