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 consis ...
event at the
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
,
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
had an entry list of 17 competitors from 13 nations, with one qualifying group before the final (12) took place on 31 July 1980. Top 12 and ties and all those reaching 72.00 metres advanced to the final. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by
Yuriy Sedykh
ukr, Юрій Георгійович Сєдих
, native_name_lang =
, years active = 1976–1995John 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 ...
had three). Just as in 1976, Sedykh led the Soviet team to a medal sweep, with Sergey Litvinov taking silver and
Jüri Tamm
Jüri Tamm (5 February 1957 – 22 September 2021) was an Estonian hammer thrower and politician. Representing the USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that ...
. The gold medal was the Soviet Union's third consecutive and fifth overall in the men's hammer throw, second all-time to the United States's seven.
Background
This was the 18th appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1896. Three of the 12 finalists from the 1976 Games returned: gold medalist
Yuriy Sedykh
ukr, Юрій Георгійович Сєдих
, native_name_lang =
, years active = 1976–1995Chris Black of Great Britain, and twelfth-place finisher Peter Farmer of Australia. Sedykh was a heavy favorite to repeat. His teammates, Sergey Litvinov and
Jüri Tamm
Jüri Tamm (5 February 1957 – 22 September 2021) was an Estonian hammer thrower and politician. Representing the USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that ...
, were his biggest challengers. The most significant absence due to the American-led boycott was
Karl-Hans Riehm
Karl-Hans Riehm (born 31 May 1951 in Konz, Rhineland-Palatinate) is a former West German hammer thrower.
His biggest success came at the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States where he won the silver medal. At the previous Olym ...
of West Germany, who had been undefeated in 1979.
Cuba and Kuwait each made their debut in the event. Great Britain appeared for the 15th time, most of any nation competing but behind the United States' 17 appearances (missing the event for the first time due to the boycott).
Competition format
The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1936, with the qualifying round completely separate from the divided final. In qualifying, each athlete received three attempts; those recording a mark of at least 72.00 metres advanced to the final. If fewer than 12 athletes achieved that distance, the top 12 would advance. The results of the qualifying round were then ignored. Finalists received three throws each, with the top eight competitors receiving an additional three attempts. The best distance among those six throws counted.Official Report, vol. 3, p. 67.
Records
Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
Yuriy Sedykh
ukr, Юрій Георгійович Сєдих
, native_name_lang =
, years active = 1976–1995Moscow Time
Moscow Time (MSK, russian: моско́вское вре́мя) is the time zone for the city of Moscow, Russia, and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg. It is the second-westernmost of the eleven time zones of Russia. It has b ...
(
UTC+3
UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours later than the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Following the ISO 8601 standard, a time with this offset would be wri ...
)
Results
Qualifying
Final
Nine athletes received additional throws (rather than eight) because of a tie at 8th place through the first three throws.