Hammer Throw: the sport
The hammer throw is a Field Athletics event where the purpose is to throw a metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The athlete recording the longest throw over a set series (usually between 3 and 6 throws) is the winner. The name "hammer throw" is derived from ancient competitions, where an actual sledge hammer, usually a metal weight attached to a cane, was thrown. Hammer throwing is still featured in folkloristc competitions such as the Highland Games in Scotland.
Competitors begin by swinging the hammer above their head to set up the circular motion of the hammer itself and prepare for the body spin. Then they pick up speed by completing one to four turns in the throwing circle. As they spin, the ball moves in a circular path, gradually increasing in speed with each turn with the high point of the ball toward the landing sector and the low point at the back of the circle. The thrower releases the ball from the front of the circle. The two most important factors for a long throw are the angle of release (the higher the better) and the speed of the ball.
The utilisation of a concrete base for throwing increased the possible speed of rotation and the use of wolfram and tungsten for the head of the hammer - thereby reducing the diameter - helped increase the distances thrown in the last 50 years.
The men's hammer throw has been in the Olympic Games since 1900, but 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.
