One of the big throwing events in track and field is hammer throwing. This event was developed centuries ago in Scotland, Ireland and England. It was traced back to the Tailteann games which was held in Tara, Ireland around the 2000 D. C., and this event does tell of the Celtic hero of that time period named Cuchulanin, who was known to once grip the wheel of a chariot by the axle and then throwing it farther than any mortal man. This is not only part of a legend but also a part of hammer throw history.
This sport was later popularly contested through the middle ages. By the 18th century it became a regular event in track and field competition in Ireland, England and Scotland. During that time the hammers were made of forged iron with no prescribed weight. The handles were known to be in length of three and three and a half feet.
An athlete would take the hammer and swing it around his head and throw it while standing stationary towards a distance that was measured from the forward foot. It was later that this object would be thrown from a line which was then marked on the field. The longest distance thrown at that time was measured at 130 to 140 feet.
Later the English standardized the event during the year of 1875 when they established the weight of this hammer to sixteen pounds. They then changed the length to three feet and six inches. They also required that this sporting event be performed from inside a circle which was seven feet in diameter.
In 1895 a new throwing technique of hammer throwing was established by the use of three jumping rotations from the ball of a persons foot. Over the years the wooden handle was then replaced by steel wire that connected it to a pair of grips.
It was in the 1900 that the hammer throwing event was then included into the Olympic games. Since then the sector that was marked on the field shrunk from 90 to 60 degrees during the 1960′s today where it is now 34.92 degrees.
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