Javelin
Javelin is a spear like object made of metal or fibre glass. Weight of the men's javelin is determined to 800 grams.
Rules and Regulations
Rules and regulations for the javelin throw are determined by the International Association of Athletics Federations or the IAAF. Experts of the IAAF oversee the event in the Olympics.
- Players are not permitted to get out of the competition area without the consent of the judge.
- Body movement of the athletes during and post show is governed by the IAAF rules and regulations.
- Specifications of the weight and the length of the javelin used are set by the IAAF.
- Every athlete gets several chances to throw the event.
- For determining the medalists of the competition, the best throw of the athletes are measured.
- If the javelin lands flat, the distance is measured from the back of the javelin.
- The throw is not counted if the tail of the javelin lands first.
- If two athletes have tied, the second best throw is taken to determine the winner.
- The throw is marked from the point where the javelin touches the ground.
All athletes participating take three throws after which the top eight take another three. The winner is the individual with the longest legal javelin throw.
Techniques
Physical power is passed on to javelin to enhance its velocity. Stretching and sprint training are used to increase the speed of the athlete at the time of release. The speed of the javelin also increases subsequently.
Top Performers
Men athletes who have excelled in javelin throw events at the Olympics are Andreas Thorkildsen, Seppo Raty, Tapio Rautavaara, Uwe Hohn, Breaux Greer, Egil Danielsen, Steve Backley, Boris Henry, Konstadinos Gatsioudis, Tero Pitkamaki, Jan Zelezny, Eric Lemming, Vadims Vasilevskis, Andrus Varnik, Tom Petranoff, Aki Parviainen, Miklos Nemeth, Jonni Myyra, Sergey Makarov, Janis Lusis, Gergely Kulcsar, Dainis Kula, Tapio Korjus, Matti Jarvinen and Arto Harkonen.