Hammer Throw

What is the hammer throw? The hammer throw is an athletic and Olympic sport in which the object, a heavy steel ball attached with wire and affixed to a handle, is thrown by competitors. The name hammer throw comes from antiquated competitions in which actual hammers were thrown. Like other throwing events, such as the discus throw, the hammer throw is a contest decided upon total distance. Hammer throwing involves a hammer that weighs 16 pounds (the woman's hammer weighing in at over eight pounds). The Olympic hammer throw has been a part of the Olympic games since 1900.

Learning The Hammer Throw Technique

Competitors gain the best distance possible in a hammer throw by winding it around their head so that they can start a turn. Force is applied and the momentum increased by completing 1-4 turns in the circled area. Most competitions allow hammer throwers to turn about 3-4 times. When it is thrown, the ball moves in a circular path, increasing in velocity with each turn. The competitor releases the ball from the front of the circle. Understanding hammer throw basic skills involves not only building speed for a strong throw but also the angle at which the hammer is released.

Famous Names In Hammer Throwing

The world record for men's hammer throwing was set by Yuriy Sedykh and still stands today. In 1986 the Russian athlete threw his hammer 86.74 meters at the European athletics championships that were held in Stuttgart, West Germany. The only other throwers in the history of hammer throwing to approach Sedykh's record were Ivan Tikhon and Sergei Litvinov who both fell but 1 cm short of the record. The current world record for women's hammer throwing was set on August 2006 in Tallinn, Estonia by Tatyana Lysenko. She threw her hammer 77.80 meters. Other famous names in hammer throw and other Olympic records include Trevor Legato and Bethany Hart. Hammer throwing involves a complicated technique and can be a difficult sport to master.

If you are wanting to improve your technique, what might help is to find some hammer throw videos. There are videos that offer to teach athletes techniques on how to throw hammers and what aspects are most important. If you are looking for some free video clips of actual hammer throws visit HammerThrow.org website. This track and field sport doesn't involve any actual hammers but it does take a tremendous amount of strength and skill.