The track and field world championships in August offered lots of big throws and interesting storylines on the individual level. We’ve recapped all the events here and here, as well as on last week’s podcast. But beyond the individual stories, there are some interesting stories at the country and continental level as well. Below as some of the most interesting trends we have identified after crunching the numbers.
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The World Championships wrapped up last weekend. Last week things got off to an exciting start, as I detailed in our halftime report. Below I continue the analysis by looking at the last four throwing finals: women’s hammer, women’s shot put, and both javelin finals.
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Perhaps my favorite podcast episodes to record are those where we get to comment on the throwing events: who is hot, who is not, technical trends, training trends, and more. Last week we posted our World Championship preview episode with Don Babbitt. Since then I have been immersed in the sport as I watch the action unfold every day in Budapest.
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It’s been 12 years now since Olympic champion Harold Connolly passed away and every year since I’ve written a memorial about him about his contributions to the world. I’ve talked about his grit, his love, his principles, and much more. But as the stories get bigger and bigger sometimes we lose focus on the man himself.
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Today is the day: the World Championships begin this morning in Oregon and the hammer throw will be the first event under way. As a throwing fan, this is the pinnacle of the sport and there is a lot to look forward to. Below are 5 major stories we’ll be keeping an eye on as the next 10 days of competition unfold.
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While everyone focuses on the medal table during the Olympics, what I find even more interesting is the placing table. The placing table allocates points for each finalist: 8 points for first, 1 for eighth. Medals can often be a matter of luck, but by looking at a country’s depth you get a real idea of trends in the sport. Below are some insights gathered from analyzing the results from Tokyo, as well as placings for the last six Olympics.
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All sports have rules. Rules are there to standardize competition, making it both more safe and fair for the competitors. Rules define the playing area, implement, procedures, and more. Rules can go overboard, but the idea is that the rules make sure the winner determined by physical and tactical components, rather than luck. In the throwing events various rules define the size and weight of the implement, where it must be thrown, the design of the cage, and the structure of the competition. However one there is one big gap in the rules: the throwing surface.
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Every year l write a memorial to Harold Connolly on the anniversary of his death. When l started to think about this year’s topic last month the theme was going to be “mission accomplished.” America was sending its strongest team to the Olympics in a century. Harold Connolly’s work to resurrect American hammer throwing has been showing progress for a long time. Now, 11 years after his death, we were on the verge of seeing the ultimate fruits of his labor.
Read moreLook back at the history of track and field and there are some legendary performances that we can all admire no matter the era. 60 years ago Abebe Bikila won the Olympic marathon barefoot in a time of 2:15, just over 6 minutes off the times from recent Olympics. Jesse Owens had to dig starting blocks into the cinder track when he ran, but his performances in the long jump would still qualify for the Olympic final nearly 90 years later. Harold Connolly won Olympic hammer throw gold despite partial paralysis in one arm. Read more
Earlier this week we ranked the top male hammer throwers of the decade. Today we continue to look back at the 2010s by ranking the top female hammer throwers, including a look back at interesting trends and statistics. Read more
