Headed to the Olympics

Javelin Star set his sights toward Olympics

Javelin Redesign

On April 1, 1986, the men's javelin (800 grams (1.76 lb)) was redesigned by the governing body (the IAAF Technical Committee). They decided to change the rules for javelin construction because of the increasingly frequent flat landings and the resulting discussions and protests when these attempts were declared valid or invalid by competition judges. The world record had also crept up to a potentially dangerous level, 104.80 metres by Uwe Hohn. The javelin was redesigned so that the centre of gravity was moved 4 cm forward, further away from the centre of pressure (the point at which the aerodynamic forces of lift and drag act).

The tip was also modified to be more blunt and less aerodynamic. All these factors combined so that the javelin had an increased downward pitching moment. This brings the nose down earlier, reducing the flight distance by around 10% but also causing the javelin to stick in the ground more consistently. In 1999, the women's javelin (600 grams (1.32 lb)) was similarly redesigned. Modifications that manufacturers made to recover some of the lost distance, by increasing tail drag (using holes, rough paint or dimples), were outlawed at the end of 1991 and marks made using implements with such modifications removed from the record books. Seppo Räty had achieved a world record of 96.96 metres in 1991 with such a design, but this record was nullified.

Javelin at the Olympics



Matti Järvinen throwing the
javelin at the 1932 Summer
Olympics



During the era between the Mycenaean times and the Roman Empire, the javelin was a commonly used offensive weapon. Being lighter than the spear, the javelin would be thrown rather than thrust and thus allowed long distance attacks against one’s enemy. Athletes, however, used javelins that were much lighter than military ones because the idea of the event was to demonstrate distance rather than penetration. The one major difference between the javelin of the ancient games and the javelin of more modern times is a leather thong, called an ankyle that was wound around the middle of the shaft. Athletes would hold the javelin by the thong and when the javelin released this thong unwound giving the javelin a spiraled flight.^[2]

The javelin throw has a particularly strong tradition in the Nordic nations of Europe. Of the 69 Olympic medals that have been awarded in the men's javelin, 32 have gone to competitors from Norway, Sweden, or Finland.^[3] Finland is the only nation to have ever swept the medals at a currently recognized official Olympics, and has done so twice, in 1920 and 1932. (However, Sweden swept the first four places at the 1906 Intercalated Games. Finland's 1920 sweep also featured an additional fourth place finish. Sweeping the first four places is no longer possible, as only three entrants per country are allowed.) In 1912, Finland also swept the medals in the only appearance in the Olympics of two-handed javelin, an event in which the implement was separately thrown with both the right hand and the left hand and the marks were added together. Quite popular in Finland and Sweden at the time, this event soon faded into obscurity, together with similar variations of the shot and the discus.

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.