The men's

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consist ...

competition at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

took place on October 16–17. There were 22 competitors from 12 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by

Gyula Zsivótzky Gyula Zsivótzky (25 February 1937 – 29 September 2007) was a Hungarian hammer thrower. He won a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics, silvers in 1960 and 1964, and finished fifth in 1972. Zsivótzky set two world record: one in 1965 and the othe ...

of Hungary, who had taken silver in both 1960 and 1964; he was the third man to win three medals in the hammer throw (after

John Flanagan John Flanagan or Jack Flanagan may refer to: Sportspeople * Jack Flanagan (footballer) (1902–1989), English footballer * John Flanagan (hammer thrower) (1868–1938), Irish-American three-time Olympic champion in athletics * John Flanagan (Limeri ...

and

Matt McGrath Matthew John "Matt" McGrath (December 28, 1875 – January 29, 1941) was a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, the New York Athletic Club, and the New York City Police Department. At the time of his death at age 64, he attained the ran ...

. Zsivótzky defeated defending champion

Romuald Klim Romuald Iosifovich Klim ( be, Рамуальд Язэпавіч Клім, russian: Ромуальд Иосифович Клим, 25 May 1933 – 28 May 2011) was a Soviet hammer thrower. He competed at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and won a gold an ...

of the Soviet Union, who earned silver this time to become the sixth man to win multiple medals in the event. Bronze went to Lázár Lovász of Hungary.

Background

This was the 15th appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1896. Eight of the 15 finalists from the 1964 Games returned: gold medalist

of the Soviet Union, two-time silver medalist

of Hungary, bronze medalist Uwe Beyer of the United Team of Germany (now competing for West Germany), sixth-place finisher (and 1956 gold medalist and 1960 finalist) Hal Connolly of the United States, seventh-place finisher Ed Burke of the United States, eleventh-place finisher Sándor Eckschmiedt of Hungary, twelfth-place finisher (and 1956 and 1960 finalist)

Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

of the United States, and thirteenth-place finisher

Takeo Sugawara is a Japanese former hammer thrower who competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics, in the 1964 Summer Olympics, in the 1968 Summer Olympics, and in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Oly ...

of Japan. Klim and Zsivótzky had been favored in 1964; they were favored again in 1968. Zsivótzky had the best throw of the pair, a world record 73.76 metres, but Klim had won nine straight head-to-head matchups between the two. El Salvador and Nicaragua each made their debut in the event; East and West Germany both competed separately for the first time. The United States appeared for the 15th time, the only nation to have competed at each appearance of the event to that point.

Competition format

The competition consisted of two rounds, qualification and final. Each athlete received three throws in the qualifying round. All who achieved the qualifying distance of 66.00 metres progressed to the final. If fewer than twelve athletes achieved this mark, then the twelve furthest throwing athletes would reach the final. Each finalist was allowed three throws in last round, with the top eight athletes after that point being given three further attempts.

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows. For the second straight Games,

led the qualifying round with an Olympic record throw, this time of 72.60 metres. In the final,

beat that record with a fourth throw of 73.28 metres to take the lead. Zsivótzky was able to answer on the fifth throw with 73.36 metres to finish with the gold medal and a new Olympic record. Lázár Lovász and

each threw 69.78 metres in the final to make four men in total surpassing the old record (but after Zsivótzky's better throw in the qualifying round, so neither ever held the record).

Schedule

All times are Central Standard Time ( UTC-6)

Results

Qualifying

Qual. rule: qualification standard 66.00m (Q) or at least best 12 qualified (q). Hall and Connolly, both finalists in each of the last three Games, each missed the qualifying mark.

Final

The tie between Lovász and Sugawara was broken by their second-best throws.

References

External links

Official Olympic Report
''la84foundation.org''. Retrieved August 14, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics - Men's hammer throw Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics Hammer throw at the Olympics Men's events at the 1968 Summer Olympics