javelin

One of the oldest hunting weapons of mankind is the spear, Heracles was already an excellent javelin thrower. At the ancient Olympic Games in 708 B.C. It is said to have been on the Olympic program for the first time as a discipline of the pentathlon.

The javelin throw is one of the most technically demanding disciplines. From a short run-up, the phases of gaining momentum and throwing are synchronized with each other. The spear is made of wood, metal or carbon or combinations thereof. The men's length is 2.70 - 2.80 m and the women's 2.20 - 2.30 m, the weight of the spear is between 600 and 800 grams. All spears have a 25 - 30 cm long metal tip. Each thrower in the competition initially has 3 throws, the best 8 athletes have 3 more attempts and determine the top places among themselves.

The best javelin throwers reach almost 100 m for men (world record: 98.48 m), for women about 70 m (world record: 71.70 m). In the 1980s, different javelins were used than in the present, with which much greater distances could be achieved (world records: 104.80 m for men and 80.00 m for women). For safety reasons, the norms for the nature of the spears were then changed.

Javelin throwing only became known in Germany after the inventor of the modern javelin throwing technique, Eric Lemming, presented it in May 1906 at the SC Komet Sweden meeting. In its almost unchanged form to this day, javelin throwing returned to the Olympic program in 1906 for men and in 1932 for women.