Tag Archive for: Throwing History

Kristof Kipp

Analyzing Alekna’s Record Part 4: center of mass

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Author’s Note: This article was co-written with the support of Don Babbitt, Martin Bingisser, and PJ Vazel. Additional thanks to Mohamad Saatara for giving us the coach’s perspecitve, Caleb Seal for giving us access to the Ramona competition, and the members of the Marquette University Biomechanics Lab (Chris Geiser, Emma Patterson, and Wanda Sihanath).

In part one, of our series analyzing the biomechanics of Mykolas Alekna’s world record in the discus we looked at the rhyhm and release. Part two broke down the delivery subphases. Part three looked at the orbit and phase durations throughout the full throw. In the final part below we the center of mass velocities and changes during the throw.

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Kristof Kipp

Analyzing Alekna’s Record Part 3: Phase durations and orbit

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Author’s Note: This article was co-written with the support of Don Babbitt, Martin Bingisser, and PJ Vazel. Additional thanks to Mohamad Saatara for giving us the coach’s perspecitve, Caleb Seal for giving us access to the Ramona competition, and the members of the Marquette University Biomechanics Lab (Chris Geiser, Emma Patterson, and Wanda Sihanath).

In part one, of our series analyzing the biomechanics of Mykolas Alekna’s world record in the discus we looked at the rhyhm and release. Part two broke down the delivery subphases. In part three below we now look at the orbit and phase durations throughout the full throw.

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Kristof Kipp

Analyzing Alekna’s Record Part 2: Delivery subphases

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Author’s Note: This article was co-written with the support of Don Babbitt, Martin Bingisser, and PJ Vazel. Additional thanks to Mohamad Saatara for giving us the coach’s perspecitve, Caleb Seal for giving us access to the Ramona competition, and the members of the Marquette University Biomechanics Lab (Chris Geiser, Emma Patterson, and Wanda Sihanath).

In part one of our series analyzing the biomechanics of Mykolas Alekna’s world record in the discus we looked at the rhyhm and release. In part two we look a bit more in detail leading up the release; specifically looking at the discus velocities during the delivery subphases.

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Kristof Kipp

Analyzing Alekna’s Record Part 1: Rhythm and release

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Author’s Note: This article was co-written with the support of Don Babbitt, Martin Bingisser, and PJ Vazel. Additional thanks to Mohamad Saatara for giving us the coach’s perspecitve, Caleb Seal for giving us access to the Ramona competition, and the members of the Marquette University Biomechanics Lab (Chris Geiser, Emma Patterson, and Wanda Sihanath).

» Related Content: Learn more about discus biomechanices from Professor Kipp in Video Lesson 40: Cast studies in discus biomechanics.

On Sunday, April 14, 2024, Mykolas Alekna competed in the open men’s discus competition at the World Athletics Invitational held in Ramona, Oklahoma, USA. The series included a new world record and was the first series ever with all six throws over 70 meters.

Over the next week we will release a series of articles dissecting Alekna’s throws in Ramona. Each throw was recorded with eight high speed cameras and analyzed by the Marquette University Biomechanics Lab. This article series will look at the data behind the results, and also how coaches can learn from and interpret that. In part 1 we look at phase-specific velocities and release parameters. Part 2 will dive into discus velocities during the delivery. Part 3 will look at the orbit and duration of each phase of the throw. And the final Part 4 focuses on the center of mass.

» Related Content: Learn more about discus biomechanices from Professor Kipp in Video Lesson 40: Cast studies in discus biomechanics.

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Martin Bingisser

HMMR Podcast Episode 300: Remembering Shaun Pickering

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The athletics community suffered a enormous loss on May 11 when Shaun Pickering unexpectedly passed away. He was an Olympic athlete, coach, and fan. But more than anything he was the man behind the scenes that helped push the sport forward. To help remember him, we’re joined this week by some of his best friends including Vesteinn Hafsteinsson, Charles van Commenee, Robert Weir, Frank Dick, and Don Babbitt.

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Martin Bingisser

HMMR Podcast Episode 267: The simple throw (with Andy Bloom)

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The 2000 Olympic Trials remains one of the most historic shot put competitions in the history of the sport. In the fifth round underdog Andy Bloom stepped into the ring, bent over into his iconic starting position, and unleashed a massive throw to secure his spot on the Olympic team. That wasn’t just luck; Bloom had spent his whole career developing a simple technique that he could execute under pressure. On this week’s podcast Bloom looks back at his career, break down his own technique, and discusses his thoughts on throwing and training.

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Maris Urtans
Martin Bingisser

Great Beards in Throwing History

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Three years ago I rolled out a list of the top moustaches in throwing history in honor of Movember. From Mac Wilkins to Jean-Pierre Egger, and Yuriy Sedykh to Aleksandr Bagach, moustaches of all varieties were present.

But a moustache is just the first step on the facial hair train. So in honor of No Shave November, I bring you some of the best beards in throwing history. These throwers have truly taken it to the next level. As I am sure I have missed some, please add them to the comments below or contact me directly.
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Martin Bingisser

The Irish Whales: Strong Hand Prevails

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This article from the HHMR Media archives is being provided as a free preview for St. Patrick’s Day. For access to other archived articles from Bingisser’s Blog and additional premium content from other authors, become a member now.

The 1890s were a tumultuous time for the hammer throw. The event was quickly transforming into the modern version and the scene was so chaotic that there wasn’t even a clear world record holder. It was similar to how boxing currently has multiple world champions in each weight class due to the numerous sanctioning bodies. The problem in the hammer was that there were no clear rules. You had a world record holder for throwing different weights. For throwing a hammer with a wooden handle or with a flexible handle. There were record for both the 7-foot, and 9-foot circles, and for throwing from a square. The only constant in these times was the winner: without fail it be an Irishman.
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Martin Bingisser

Training Talk With Ed Burke (Part 3)

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In part one and part two of my training talk with throwing great Ed Burke, we discussed his long journey to 1984 in which he retired after making two Olympic teams and then came back to throw a personal best at age 44 and qualify for his third Olympic team in 1984.

The last part of our training talk centers around that pivotal time. We start by talking about what the youth program he set up immediately after his second retirement that ended up producing hundreds of throwers and multiple Olympians. It started off as a simple idea and can serve as a template for helping growing the sport. Then we also talk about 1984 itself and what it was like to be selected and actual carry the American flag at the Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

Part 1: The Beginning

Part 2: The Comebacks

Part 3: Youth Development and Carrying the American Flag

Martin: You had been away from the sport nearly 30 years before you came back as a masters athlete. Did you not throw the hammer at all during that time?

Ed: Oh no. Well, I shouldn’t say that. In 1985 I started the Explorer’s Post club with Mac Wilkins. I would demonstrate to the athletes and probably hold the world record for throwing the hammer in Rockport walking shoes.
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Martin Bingisser

Training Talk With Ed Burke (Part 2)

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Ed Burke throwing at the 1984 Olympics after his first comeback.

In part one of our training talk with US hammer throwing legend Ed Burke we talked about how he started out in the event and developed into one of the top throwers in the world. After reaching the top of the sport and making his second Olympic team, Burke abruptly retired in 1968. But the retirement was not permanent and he came back to the sport and threw a personal best of 74.34 meters and made another Olympic team at the age of 44. Then, after retiring again, he came back two decades later to compete as a master’s athlete and set several world records.

Part two discusses why he left the sport and why it kept calling him back.

Part 1: The Beginning

Part 2: The Comebacks

Martin: Both after the 1968 and 1984 Olympics you took extended breaks from the sport. What was the reason for retiring?
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