The men's
hammer throw
The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin.
The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...
event was part of the
track and field athletics programme at the
1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...
. The competition was held on Monday, July 30, 1928. Sixteen hammer throwers from eleven nations competed.
The maximum number of athletes per nation was 4.
[Official Report, p. 374.] The event was won by
Pat O'Callaghan of Ireland, the first gold medal for the nation at the Olympics since it started competing independently in 1924 and the first time the event was won by a non-American (though five of the previous six winners had been born in Ireland before emigrating to the United States).
Ossian Skiöld of Sweden took silver, the nation's second medal in the event after another silver in 1920. The Americans, who had earned a gold medal and at least one other medal in each of the previous six hammer throw competitions, took only a bronze this time, with
Edmund Black finishing third.
Background
This was the seventh appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1896. Three of the six finalists from the 1924 Games returned: bronze medalist
Malcolm Nokes of Great Britain, fourth-place finisher
Erik Eriksson
Erik Eriksson (; 1216 – 2 February 1250), sometimes known as Erik XI or with the epithet the Lisp and Lame (), was King of Sweden from 1222 to 1229 and again from 1234 to 1250. Being the last ruler of the House of Erik, he stood in the shado ...
of Finland, and fifth-place finisher
Ossian Skiöld of Sweden. Also returning was 1920 silver medalist (and 1912 finalist and 1924 seventh-place finisher)
Carl Johan Lind of Sweden.
Three-time medalist
Matt McGrath, then 51 years old, tried to compete again but finished fifth at the U.S. trials to barely miss making the team.
Argentina, Chile, Ireland, Japan, and Norway each made their debut in the event. The United States appeared for the seventh time, the only nation to have competed at each appearance of the event to that point.
Competition format
The competition continued to use the divided-final format used since 1908, with results carrying over between "rounds". Each athlete received three throws in the qualifying round. The top six men advanced to the final, where they received an additional three throws. The best result, qualifying or final, counted.
[Official Report, p. 457.]
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1928 Summer Olympics.
No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.
Schedule
Results
The best six throwers qualified for the final. The throwing order and the throwing series are not available. The final was held on the same day.
References
External links
Olympic Report
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1928 Summer Olympics - Men's Hammer Throw
Hammer
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...
Hammer throw at the Olympics
Men's events at the 1928 Summer Olympics