Gold medal distances in the hammer throw at the Summer Olympics 1900-2020
The Olympic records are currently held by the Soviet Union's Sergey Litvinov, with a throw of 84.8 meters in 1988, and Anita Włodarczyk of Poland, with a throw of 82.29 meters in 2016. Włodarczyk also holds the women's world record of 82.98 meters (she was the first woman to throw more than 80 meters), while Yuriy Sedykh throw of 86.74 meters for the Soviet Union in 1986 still stands as the men's world record. In the early Olympic Games, the United States dominated the event, taking gold in the first six hammer throw events, however (ex-)Soviet and Eastern European athletes have dominated the sport since the Second World War. The US' John Flanagan won the first three gold medals, and remains the only athlete to ever win more than two Olympic golds in the men's event. Anita Włodarczyk matched this feat, winning three consecutive gold medals between 2012 and 2020, cementing her status as the greatest hammer thrower of all time.