Non-atmospheric Flight

The Hammer Throw

athlete
The above graphic is from http://www.britannica.com

For the shot put, discus and hammer throw, athletes spin within a marked circle to create momentum before throwing.

The circle is surrounded by an iron band six millimeters thick and painted white on top. Throwers must not touch the top of the iron band or the ground outside the circle when throwing.

For shot put and hammer throw, the diameter of the circle is 2.135 meters, while the discus circle is slightly larger at 2.5 meters. There is a wooden stop board at the front of the shot put circle to help prevent athletes from sliding out of the circle.

In all throwing events, the object being thrown must land in a specified landing area. White lines five centimeters wide delineate the area. The landing area makes a 40 degree wedge.

The hammer is made up of a head, a wire and a grip. The wire measures three millimeters in diameter and connects the grip, made of two arms with a curved handle, to the head, a ball with a diameter of 11-13 centimeters for men and 9.5 to 11 centimeters for women.

For men, the hammer must weigh at least 7.26kilograms and be between 117.t and 121.5 centimeters long, while for women it must weigh at least four kilograms and measure between 116 and 119.5 centimeters.