Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's hammer throw

The event was marred by doping-related disqualifications, with the original first- and third-place athletes being removed. Adrián Annus of Hungary originally won the competition, but he was disqualified after being found guilty of tampering with his sample at the doping control.{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/SPORT/08/29/olympics.doping/|title=IOC strips Annus of hammer gold|publisher=CNN|date=29 August 2004|access-date=8 April 2014}} The original runner-up, Koji Murofushi, was accordingly declared the 2004 Olympic champion.

Originally, Ivan Tsikhan won the bronze medal. With Annus's disqualification, Tsikhan moved up to the silver medal. However, he was disqualified in 2012 after a retest of his samples from 2004 were positive for methandienone. Tsikhan withdrew from the 2012 Summer Olympics as a result.{{cite news|url=https://olympics.com/ioc/news/ioc-disqualifies-four-medallists-from-athens-2004-following-further-analysis-of-stored-samples|title=IOC disqualifies four medallists from Athens 2004 following further analysis of stored samples|publisher=IOC|date=5 December 2012|access-date=1 May 2023}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19116807|title=Olympics 2012 drugs: Hammer thrower withdrawn over Athens test|publisher=BBC News Online|date=3 August 2012|access-date=17 August 2014}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/20614290|title=Olympic drug tests: Four athletes stripped of 2004 Athens medals|date=5 December 2012 |publisher=BBC Sport|access-date=5 December 2012}} The silver and bronze medal were not re-awarded. The athlete in a position to be elevated to the Olympic silver medal, Eşref Apak of Turkey, received a 2-year doping ban in 2013 for the use of a prohibited substance, which lasted from 8 June 2013 to 25 June 2015.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/23579781|title=Esref Apak among 31 Turkish athletes banned for two years|publisher=BBC Sport|date=5 August 2013|access-date=1 July 2022}} The athlete in a position to be elevated to the Olympic bronze medal, Vadim Devyatovskiy of Belarus, had previously been subject to a court case by the International Olympic Committee regarding doping at the 2008 Summer Olympics.{{cite news|url= https://www.espn.com/extra/olympics/story?id=5271541|title=CAS Reinstates Olympic Medals for Hammer Throwers|publisher=ESPN|date=10 June 2010|access-date=1 July 2022}}{{cite news|url=https://www.foxsports.com/stories/olympics/cas-reinstates-olympic-medals-for-hammer-throwers|title=CAS Reinstates Olympic Medals for Hammer Throwers|publisher=FoxSports|date=10 June 2010|access-date=1 July 2022}} Аs the next two finishers Eşref Apak and Vadim Devyatovskiy had both been suspended from the sport for doping offenses since 2004, the IOC decided to declare the silver and bronze medals vacant, leaving the only medalists as Murofushi with gold (in the official publication of the results, Eşref Apak is listed second, but without getting a silver medal, Vadim Devyatovskiy is listed third, but without getting a bronze medal).{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/2004/ATH/mens-hammer-throw.html|title=Athletics at the 2004 Athens Summer Games: Men's Hammer Throw|publisher=Sports Reference|access-date=15 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417173051/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/2004/ATH/mens-hammer-throw.html|archive-date=17 April 2020|url-status=dead}}

This was the 24th appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1896. Seven of the 12 finalists from the 2000 Games returned: gold medalist (and 1996 finalist) Szymon Ziółkowski of Poland, silver medalist Nicola Vizzoni of Italy, bronze medalist (and 1992 silver medalist and 1996 finalist) Igor Astapkovich of Belarus, fifth-place finisher (and 1996 finalist) Ilya Konovalov of Russia, eighth-place finisher Vladimír Maška of the Czech Republic, ninth-place finisher Koji Murofushi of Japan, and twelfth-place finisher Alexandros Papadimitriou of Greece. The last two World Champions were Ziółkowski (2001) and Ivan Tsikhan of Belarus (2003). Tikhon, 2002 European champion Adrián Annus of Hungary, and Murofushi (bronze medalist in the 2003 World Championship and who, in 2003, had the best throw of anyone since 1986—a mark that is still, in 2021, the fourth-best throw of all time) were the favorites.

Albania, Tajikistan, and Turkey each made their debut in the event. The United States appeared for the 23rd time, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

{{main|Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Qualification}}

The qualification period for Athletics was 1 January 2003 to 9 August 2004. For the men's hammer throw, each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to three athletes that had thrown 78.65 metres or further during the qualification period. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. If an NOC had no athletes that qualified under that standard, one athlete that had thrown 74.35 metres or further could be entered.{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/og2004.htm|title=2004 Olympic Games - Athletics Qualifying Standards|publisher=GBR Athletics|access-date=21 October 2020}}

Each athlete received three throws in the qualifying round. All who achieved the qualifying distance of 78.00 metres progressed to the final. If fewer than twelve athletes achieved this mark, then the twelve furthest throwing athletes would reach the final. Each finalist was allowed three throws in last round, with the top eight athletes after that point being given three further attempts.

{{As of|2004|8|9|alt=Prior to the competition}}, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

{{World Olympic Record

| world_athlete = {{flagathlete|Yuriy Sedykh|URS}}

| world_mark = 86.74

| world_place = Stuttgart, West Germany

| world_date = 30 August 1986

| olympic_athlete = {{flagIOCathlete|Sergey Litvinov|URS|1988 Summer}}

| olympic_mark = 84.80

| olympic_place = Seoul, South Korea

| olympic_date = 26 September 1988

}}

No new records were set during the competition.

All times are Greece Standard Time (UTC+2)

Rule: Qualifying standard 78.00 (Q) or at least best 12 qualified (q).

{{note label|note|note|note}}IOC decided to declare the silver and bronze medals vacant (in the official publication of the results, Eşref Apak is listed second, but without getting a silver medal, Vadim Devyatovskiy is listed third, but without getting a bronze medal).

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080522105330/http://www.la84foundation.org/5va/reports_frmst.htm Official Olympic Report]

{{OlympicsHammer Throw}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions Hammer Throw Men}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's Hammer Throw}}

Hammer throw men

2004

Category:Men's events at the 2004 Summer Olympics