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Uwe Hohn (born 16 July 1962) is a retired German
track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
athlete who competed in the
javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...
. He is the only athlete to throw a javelin 100
metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...
s or more, with his
world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
of . A new javelin design was implemented in 1986 and the records had to be restarted, thus Hohn's mark became an "eternal world record". He coached Indian track and field athlete
Neeraj Chopra Neeraj Chopra (born 24 December 1997) is a track and field athlete from India. He is the reigning Olympic champion, silver medalist in the World Championship, and the Diamond League champion in Javelin throw. He is the first Asian athlete to win ...
, who won the gold in Men's javelin throw at
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
held in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. Born in
Neuruppin Neuruppin (; North Brandenburgisch: ''Reppin'') is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Ostprignitz-Ruppin district. It is the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Fontane (1819–1898) and therefore also referred to as ''Fonta ...
, Hohn excelled at the javelin throw from a young age and won the 1981 European Junior Championship with a throw of 86.56 m, a junior record. He then won gold at the 1982 European Championships with a 91.34 m throw. He did not compete at the 1983 World Championships and missed out on the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
as
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
had boycotted the games. He did however win gold at the
Friendship Games The Friendship Games, or Friendship-84 (russian: Дружба-84, ''Druzhba-84''), was an international multi-sport event held between 2 July and 16 September 1984 in the Soviet Union and eight other socialist states which boycotted the 1984 Su ...
, throwing 94.44 m (
Arto Härkönen Arto Kalevi Härkönen (born 31 January 1959, in Helsinki) is a retired Finnish javelin thrower. He won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angel ...
won the 1984 Olympics with a throw of 86.76 m). In 1985, Hohn won the
IAAF World Cup The IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field competition organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The event was proposed by IAAF former President Primo Nebiolo and was first held in 1977 as t ...
and
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
but his career ended in 1986 after several setbacks due to a surgery. After his retirement from competition, Hohn became a coach and since 1999 he has worked for SC Potsdam, the successor of ASK Vorwärts Potsdam, where he started his career as a sportsman.


World record

On 20 July 1984, competing in the Olympic Day of Athletics competition at the
Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark The Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark is a multi-purpose sports complex located in the western part of the locality of Prenzlauer Berg in the borough of Pankow in Berlin. The sports complex covers an area of approximately 22 hectares and comprises ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, Hohn threw the javelin a distance of . Hohn's throw shattered the previous world record of 99.72 m set by
Tom Petranoff Thomas Alan Petranoff (born April 8, 1958) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He held the world record (old implement javelin) from May 1983 to July 1984; his 99.72 m (327 ft) throw was almost the l ...
of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in May 1983. Contrary to popular myth, this was not the primary reason for the change in javelin design rules that came into force starting in 1986; the relevant change of moving the javelin's centre of gravity forward by four centimetres had already been officially proposed prior to Hohn's record throw, not only to shorten distances but also to get rid of the then frequent flat or ambiguous landings, which often made it hard to assess if a throw should be declared legal. However, Hohn's record-breaking throw accelerated the process as throws of his distance were in danger of going beyond the available space in normal stadiums.


Coaching career

Hohn has been a professional coach since 1999. Among others, Hohn has coached China's national champion
Zhao Qinggang Zhao Qinggang (; born 24 July 1985) is a Chinese track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. His 89.15 m personal best throw, set in 2014, is the Chinese record. It was also the Asian record until surpassed in 2017. He represen ...
. In 2017, Hohn signed the contract with the
Athletics Federation of India The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is the national governing body for Athletics sport in India, and is responsible for conducting competitions in the country. It was formed in 1943. It is affiliated to World Athletics and Asian Athletics A ...
(AFI) for coaching the Indian javelin squad including Junior world record holder
Neeraj Chopra Neeraj Chopra (born 24 December 1997) is a track and field athlete from India. He is the reigning Olympic champion, silver medalist in the World Championship, and the Diamond League champion in Javelin throw. He is the first Asian athlete to win ...
till
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
to be held in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. Neeraj Chopra won the Gold medal for India in the Men's javelin throw with a throw of 87.58 m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.


Personal life

Hohn has been married since 1983 and has two children. He is tall and had a competition weight of 112 kg.


Achievements

*1976 to 1980: GDR champion for his age group *1981: European junior champion for the GDR starting in
Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
with 86.58 m; European junior record with 86.58 m *1982: European Champion in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
with 91.34 m *1984: GDR sportsman of the year. Threw the longest men's javelin throw ever at 104.80 m. *1985: Won the javelin event at the
1985 IAAF World Cup The 4th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on October 4–6, 1985, at the Bruce Stadium in Canberra, Australia. Overall results ...
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
with 96.96 m (best performance in the world that yearWorld Top Performers 1980–2005: Men (Outdoor)
– GBR Athletics) *1985: Set a championship record of 92.88 m at the 1985 European Cup


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hohn, Uwe 1962 births Living people East German male javelin throwers German athletics coaches World record setters in athletics (track and field) European Athletics Championships medalists Friendship Games medalists in athletics Sportspeople from Neuruppin