The History of Javelin

It is believed that the first javelin thrower was Hercules, son of Zeus. The javelin throw event was first introduced in the 708 BC Games. It was composed of two events: throwing at a target and throwing for distance. When they were throwing for distance, they were using the same principles that we use today. For throwing at a target, they would ride the horse and throw at a target when the horse was in motion. Riding the horse and tossing the Javelin required incredible coordination from the rider.

Javelin Midflight

The first javelins were made of olive wood that weighted 400 grams and were 2.3 to 2.4 meters long. In 1780 the javelin was changed. The length changed from 2.3 meters to 2.6 meters long and the weight changed to 800 grams. Instead of using olive wood they used hickory wood. Then in 1953 Franklin Held invented the hollow javelin that gave the javelin 27% more surface area therefore making the javelin flight much longer. When doing this it made the javelin land horizontally. From the time of Hercules to the present, the sport of javelin has changed many times but the participants are still looking strong. As we improve technology so is the design of the javelin, we went from woods to metals.
The sport began to change in 1780. The weight of the Javelin was doubled to 800 grams and lengthened .3 meters to 2.6 meters long. They now began to use hickory wood for the javelin instead of olive wood. Yet again, in 1953, the Javelin was changed by Franklin Held. made the javelijn howllow which allowed 27% more surface area. In turn, this would make the javelin fly much longer. Now the javelin landed horizontally instead of vertically. In modern day Olympics, we now use metals instead of wood.
Today’s Javelin event is dominated by Cuba, Finland, and Britain track and field teams.