The Men's Javelin Throw event at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

took place on September 2–3 at the

Olympic Stadium, Munich Olympiastadion () is a stadium located in Munich, Germany. Situated at the heart of the '' Olympiapark München'' in northern Munich, the stadium was built as the main venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics. During the Olympics 70,824 tickets—in ...

. The qualifying standard was . The winning margin was 2 cm which as of June 2025 remains the only time the men's javelin throw was won by less than 10 cm at the Olympics. Also as of June 2025, it is the narrowest winning margin for any javelin competition, women included, at the Olympics, the World Athletics Championships, the European Athletics Championships and the Commonwealth Games.

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:

Results

Qualifying round

Finals

The eight highest-ranked competitors after three rounds qualified for the final three throws to decide the medals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics - Men's javelin throw M Javelin throw at the Olympics Men's events at the 1972 Summer Olympics