Every four years, many different sports are held during the Olympics, one of the sections called track and field. The track is 400 meters all the way around. Some short-distance events are the 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m dash, 110m, 100m, and 400m hurdles. They also hold long-distance events like the 1600m(1 mile), 3200m (2 miles), and a mid-range at 800m (1/2 mile). Field events range from jumping or pole vaulting to throwing an implement as far as possible. All the throwing events are discus throw, hammer throw, and shot put, with the last being javelin throw.
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Now, what is the javelin throw? A javelin, more commonly known as a spear, is metal-tipped with a corded grip. It can't weigh less than 800mg for men and measures 2.6-2.7m in length. And for women, it can't weigh less than 600mg and measure 2.2-2.3m. The competitors must land the tip of the javelin in a 29-degree sector. While throwing it, you must hold it by the corded grip while taking a run-up before throwing it before going over the foul/scratch line and trying to throw over the upper part of your throwing arm to avoid throwing it underhand. Each participant has six throws, with their farthest throw counting.
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The javelin throw did not become a part of the Olympics until 1908 for men and 1932 for women. Before it became a worldwide sport, it was used by hunters and soldiers. Hunters developed it for killing animals and soldiers as a weapon of war.
Javelin first appeared in sports in 708 BC at the Ancient Olympics in Greece. Back then, it was made out of olive wood instead of metal like it is now. However, the Games ended around 394 AD after Roman emperor Theodosius I made pagan celebrations and functions illegal. (Olympics.com) It was in the late 1700s that the Scandinavians revived it. However, it wasn't the first throwing events to be added; instead, it was the discus and shot put that got added in 1896. In 1908, there were two different javelin events: the traditional way of throwing it and the freestyle, where you could hold it anywhere instead of at the grip. The 1908 London Olympics was the only time that the freestyle event was seen, and ever since, the traditional way has been a part of the Olympics. Eric Lemming won the first two Olympics where the javelin event was seen.
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Ever since then, there have been multiple different champions that have caused the popularity of javelin to soar. Some are Uwe Hohn from Germany, Jan Zelezny from the Czech Republic, and Johannes Vette, the most recent, who won the 2017 world championship, breaking 90m at 97.7m in 2020. I hope this has piqued your interest in the Olympics and caused you to want to investigate the other athletics events held every four years for the world to see. You may even want to try some of the events for fun one day.
While I prefer the Winter Olympics, this is very interesting to read about. The javelin throw must be important to the Olympics if it was present in the ancient Greek festival as well as being reintroduced pretty early to the modern games.
ReplyDeleteI've always know that there was some type of reason that the Olympics feature events like these. It was cool to hear the background of the javelin throwing and its inclusion in the Olympics.
ReplyDeletethis was very cool and informative. I learned more in a few minutes about an Olympic sport than I have ever watching it. My favorite part was when he threw the pointy thing. No, but seriously, very cool.
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