AthleticsAthletics world record
Hammer throw, men
86.74 m
284.58 ft
- Holder
- Yuriy Sedykh
- Date
- Place
- Stuttgart
- Standing since
- 1986 (40 years)
✓ Value cross-checked in a second source
How the record evolved
The last record set in each decade, up to the current record (highlighted).
| Year | Record | Holder |
|---|---|---|
| 86.74 m | Yuriy Sedykh | |
| 86.66 m | Yuriy Sedykh | |
| 80.32 m | Karl-Hans Riehm | |
| 75.48 m | Anatoliy Bondarchuk | |
| 68.68 m | Hal Connolly | |
| 59.57 m | Imre Németh | |
| 59.00 m | Erwin Blask | |
| 57.77 m | Patrick Ryan |
Put them in order
Sort these records from the oldest to the most recent.
- 59.57 mImre Németh
- 57.77 mPatrick Ryan
- 80.32 mKarl-Hans Riehm
- 86.74 mYuriy Sedykh
What to remember
A metal ball, a steel wire and a grip: despite its name, the hammer looks nothing like the tool. The men's implement weighs 7.26 kilograms (16 lb). On August 30, 1986, at the European Championships in Stuttgart, Yuriy Sedykh threw it 86.74 m.
Competing for the Soviet Union from 1976 to 1991, Sedykh was a European, World and Olympic champion; his first Olympic title came in Montreal in 1976. He had also thrown 86.66 m in 1986.
In 1913, the record stood at 57.77 m, set by Patrick Ryan. Hal Connolly reached 68.68 m in 1958, Anatoliy Bondarchuk 75.48 m in 1969 and Karl-Hans Riehm 80.32 m in 1978. Over 73 years the mark grew by 50.1%. Rooted in old Celtic practices, the event has been Olympic for men since 1900; the IAAF only made it official for women, with a 4 kg hammer, in 1995.
Related records
Sources and licences
- Value, holder and date: Wikipedia article “List of world records in athletics” (revision used 1378411308). Data from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo: Athletics Federation of India, Photo licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons). Remove this photo.
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