Editing Hammer throw (section)

==Competition==

The men's hammer weighs {{convert|7.26|kg}} and the women's weighs {{convert|4|kg|abbr=on}}, with the wire in either case no more than {{convert|122|cm}} in length.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hammer Throw|url=https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/throws/hammer-throw|publisher=[[World Athletics]]|access-date=May 12, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119180903/https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/throws/hammer-throw|archive-date=November 19, 2021}}</ref> Like the other throwing events, the competition is decided by who can throw the implement the farthest.

The throwing motion starts with the thrower swinging the hammer back-and-forth about two times to generate momentum. The thrower then makes three, four or (rarely) five full rotations using a complex heel-toe foot movement, spinning the hammer in a circular path and increasing its [[angular velocity]] with each rotation. Rather than spinning the hammer horizontally, it is instead spun in a plane that angles up towards the direction in which it will be launched. The thrower releases the hammer as its velocity is upward and toward the target.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Johannsen |first1=Dana |title=Tokyo 2020: Why the Olympic hammer throw may become a new national obsession |url= https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/125889648/tokyo-2020-why-the-olympic-hammer-throw-may-become-a-new-national-obsession |access-date=1 August 2021 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=1 August 2021}}</ref>

Throws are made from a ''throwing circle''. The thrower is not allowed to step outside the throwing circle before the hammer has landed and may only enter and exit from the rear of the throwing circle. The hammer must land within a 34.92º ''throwing [[circular sector|sector]]'' that is centered on the throwing circle. The sector angle was chosen because it provides a sector whose bounds are easy to measure and lay out on a field (10 metres out from the center of the ring, 6 metres across).<ref>{{cite web |title=Hammer Throw |url=https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/throws/hammer-throw |website=World Athletics }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pntf.org/officials/ivars/Throwing_Event_Sector_Angles_Rev_F1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513053210/http://www.pntf.org/officials/ivars/Throwing_Event_Sector_Angles_Rev_F1.pdf |archive-date=2015-05-13 |url-status=live |title=Laying Out Sector Angles for the Track and Field Throwing Events |author=<!--Not stated--> |access-date=2022-03-19 |website=USA Track & Field Pacific Northwest |quote=The shot, discus, hammer & weight throw sector is 34.92º. This angle was chosen due to its simple geometry.}}</ref> A violation of the rules results in a foul and the throw not being counted.{{citation needed|date = September 2022}}

{{Asof|2023}} the men's hammer world record is held by [[Yuriy Sedykh]], who threw {{T&Fcalc|86.74}} at the [[1986 European Athletics Championships]] in [[Stuttgart]], [[West Germany]] on 30 August.  The world record for the women's hammer is held by [[Anita Włodarczyk]], who threw {{T&Fcalc|82.98}} during the [[Kamila Skolimowska Memorial]] on 28 August 2016.{{citation needed|date = September 2022}} Sedykh's 1986 world record has been noted for its longevity, and for dating from "a time when track and field was starting to realize the scale of performance-enhancing drug use" (AP).<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2021-09-14 |title=Yuriy Sedykh, hammer world record holder, dies at 66 |url=https://apnews.com/article/track-and-field-sports-europe-russia-moscow-62f7dd55278ba992439adf63ddfb0af1 |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> According to Russian doping whistleblower [[Grigory Rodchenkov]], Sedykh was a heavy user of [[Steroid|steroids]], which Sedykh denied.<ref name=":1" />

The throwing distance depends on the velocity and height at which the hammer is released, but also on other factors that are not under the athlete's control.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Horváth |first1=Gábor |last2=Hegedűs |first2=Dénes |last3=Slíz-Balogh |first3=Judit |date=2023-06-27 |title=Change of world-record rankings of shot put and hammer throw due to the effects of Earth rotation and athlete's height |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=10409 |doi=10.1038/s41598-023-36665-5 |pmid=37369722 |pmc=10300113 |bibcode=2023NatSR..1310409H |s2cid=259273858 |issn=2045-2322}}</ref> In particular, Earth's rotation affects it via the location's [[latitude]] (due to the [[centrifugal force]], the hammer will fly a bit further in a location closer to the equator) and to a lesser extent also via the throw's [[azimuth]] (i.e. its compass direction, due to [[Coriolis force|Coriolis forces]]).<ref name=":2" />  According to a 2023 study, such effects are large enough that the top 20 world-record rankings for both men and women at the time could somewhat change if they were adjusted for latitude and azimuth.<ref name=":2" />

{{Gallery
|title=
|width=160 | height=170 |noborder=yes
|align=center
|File:Hammer throw.jpg
 |The traditional [[Highland games]] version of the event
|File:2017 European Athletics U23 Championships, hammer throw women final2 15-07-2017.jpg
 |Thrower inside a hammer cage, with the markings for the throwing circle and the throwing sector visible on the ground
|File:Scottish hammer throw illustration.jpg
 |Scottish hammer throw illustration from Frank R. Stockton's book ''Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact and Fancy''
|File:John Flanagan.jpg 
 |[[John Flanagan (hammer thrower)|John Flanagan]] in the hammer throw competition at the Summer Olympics 1908 in London
|File:Hammerthrow wire.jpg 
 |The contemporary version of the hammer throw
|File:Hammer Throw Practice.jpg 
 |Athlete practicing the hammer throw event
|File:Men's Hammer Throw Final - 28th Summer Universiade 2015 Gwangju.webm 
 |Men's Hammer Throw Final – [[Athletics_at_the_2015_Summer_Universiade_–_Men's_hammer_throw|28th Summer Universiade]]
}}