The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about 2.5 m in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon.
Andreas Thorkildsen is a retired Norwegian track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He was the Olympic Champion in 2004 and 2008, European Champion in 2006 and 2010, and World Champion in 2009. He is the first male javelin thrower in history to simultaneously be European, World and Olympic Champion. He was also a three-time silver medalist at the World Championships, placing second in 2005, 2007 and 2011. His personal best of 91.59 m, set in 2006, is the Norwegian record.
Detlef Michel is a German track and field athlete. He represented East Germany during the 1980s and was one of the world's best in the javelin throw. His most important result came when he won the World Championship title in Helsinki 1983 with a throw of 89.48 meters in adverse conditions (rain), beating world record holder Tom Petranoff of the USA by a comfortable margin. In fact, Michel threw the four longest throws of the final.
Dainis Kūla is a Latvian former javelin thrower who represented the Soviet Union at the international level for most of his career. He is most famous for controversially winning the gold medal in men's javelin throw at the 1980 Summer Olympics, becoming the second Latvian to achieve this. He is also a World Championship bronze medalist, a three-time Soviet Champion and a two-time Universiade champion.
Uwe Hohn is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is the only athlete to throw a javelin 100 metres or more, with his world record of 104.80 m. A new javelin design was implemented in 1986 and the records had to be restarted, thus Hohn's mark became an "eternal world record". He coached Indian track and field athlete Neeraj Chopra, who won the gold in the men's javelin throw at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo.
Ferenc Paragi was a Hungarian athlete who, on 23 April 1980 established a world record of 96.72 meters in the javelin throw, eclipsing the global standard set by fellow countryman Miklós Németh at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Arne Roald Bradstock is an Olympic athlete and an Olympic artist from England who competed in the men's javelin throw event during his career. He twice represented Great Britain at the Summer Olympics: 1984 and 1988. In 1992 he was an alternate for the GB Olympic Team and in 1996 was an alternate for the USA Olympic team. Bradstock competed in the 2000, 2004, 2008 USAT&F Olympic Trials and then, for his 8th and final time at age 50, the 2012 UK Olympic Trials where he came second.
Braian Ezequiel Toledo was an Argentine javelin thrower who improved the World Youth Best in boys' javelin throw by more than six metres.
Ryan Keith Whiting is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and has a personal record of 22.28 meters outdoors and 22.35 meters indoors. His biggest international senior success to date is first place at the 2012 World Indoor Championships. He represented the United States at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, 2013 World Championships in Athletics, 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2012 London Olympics.
Julius Yego is a Kenyan track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. Nicknamed "Mr. YouTube" because he learned how to throw by watching YouTube videos of javelin athletes, Yego is the African record holder for the event with a personal best of 92.72 m.
Riley Dolezal is an American track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. His personal record for the event is 83.50 m and he is the 2013 and 2017 United States Javelin champion. He now works at Horace High School as a gym and health teacher
Tomas Walsh is a New Zealand athlete who competes mainly in the shot put. He is the current national record holder both outdoors and indoors for the event. His personal best of 22.90 m, set in Doha, 5 October 2019, is also the Oceanian record and makes him the sixth best shot putter in history.
Nicholas Miller is a British track and field athlete who specialises in the hammer throw. He was the gold medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2022 Commonwealth Games, a silver medallist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the gold medal at the 2015 European Athletics U23 Championships. He holds the British record of 80.26 m for the event.
George Michael Frenn was an American hammer thrower, weight thrower and powerlifter. Frenn set world bests in the outdoor and indoor weight throws, won two medals in the Pan American Games and competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Joseph Mathias Kovacs is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and has a personal record of 23.23 meters outdoors and 22.05 meters indoors. He won gold medals at the 2015 and 2019 World Championships. He won silver medals at the 2017 World Championships, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. His personal best of 23.23 metres makes him the second best competitor all-time in the shot put event.
Johannes Vetter is a German athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He won gold at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. His personal best of 97.76 m is the German record, and ranks him second on the overall list. Vetter currently trains under Boris Obergföll and is a member of LG Offenburg's track and field squad. He was previously with SV Saar 05 Saarbrücken and Dresdner SC.
The 1932 United States Olympic trials for track and field were held on July 15 and July 16, 1932 and decided the United States team for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The trials for men and women were held separately; men competed in Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California, while women competed in Dyche Stadium in Evanston, Illinois. Both meetings also served as the annual United States outdoor track and field championships. For the first time, only the top three athletes in each event qualified for the Olympics; until 1928, every nation had been allowed four entrants per event.
Shen Maomao is a Chinese former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. His is a three-time Asian champion and a former Asian record holder.
Ryan Crouser is an American shot putter and discus thrower. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Olympic record holder. Crouser is the current world record holder in the shot put, both indoor and outdoor. On May 27, 2023, Crouser reset his outdoor world record with a throw of 23.56m bettering his previous world record by 7.48 inches/19 cm. In 2021, at the U.S. Olympic Trials he threw 23.37 m to break Randy Barnes's 31-year-old record of 23.12 m by almost 10 inches (25 cm). Crouser is also a two-time World Champion and the World Championship Record holder in the shot put 23.51m, just 2+1⁄2 in off his world record.
Philip Spies is a retired South African javelin thrower. Primarily a provincial cricketer at school and South African Country District level, chose athletics over cricket. The arrival in South Africa of American World Record Holder, Tom Petranoff was a big deciding factor for Spies with regards to choosing athletics over cricket. Petranoff became an integral part of Spies' athletics career and still regards Petranoff as being one of the great javelin throwers of all time considering that Petranoff held two separate world records: 99.72m with the "Old" model and 85.38m with the "new" model. He became South African Schools champion at 17 years of age and achieved South African Schools Colors in 1988. Versatile sportsman who played on the SA Tennis Union circuit in 1990/ 1991 and reached a best golf handicap of 05 in 2000.
