Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's hammer throw

This was the 28th appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except the first in 1896.

Paweł Fajdek of Poland was the four-time reigning World Champion (2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019), qualified, and was a favorite in Tokyo.

No nations made their men's hammer throw debut, though Russian athletes competed as the "ROC" for the first time. The United States appeared for the 27th time, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

{{main|Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification}}

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to 3 qualified athletes in the men's hammer throw event if all athletes meet the entry standard or qualify by ranking during the qualifying period. (The limit of 3 has been in place since the 1930 Olympic Congress.) The qualifying standard is 77.50 metres. This standard was "set for the sole purpose of qualifying athletes with exceptional performances unable to qualify through the IAAF World Rankings pathway." The world rankings, based on the average of the best five results for the athlete over the qualifying period and weighted by the importance of the meet, will then be used to qualify athletes until the cap of 32 is reached.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/43259616 |title=IAAF to follow other sports with world ranking system for athletes|publisher=BBC Sport|date=7 March 2018 |access-date=2 August 2018}}

The qualifying period was originally from 1 May 2019 to 29 June 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the period was suspended from 6 April 2020 to 30 November 2020, with the end date extended to 29 June 2021. The world rankings period start date was also changed from 1 May 2019 to 30 June 2020; athletes who had met the qualifying standard during that time were still qualified, but those using world rankings would not be able to count performances during that time. The qualifying time standards could be obtained in various meets during the given period that have the approval of the IAAF. Both outdoor and indoor meets are eligible. The most recent Area Championships may be counted in the ranking, even if not during the qualifying period.{{cite news |url=https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/olympic-qualification-suspended-2020|title=Olympic qualification period suspended until 1 December 2020|publisher=World Athletics|date=6 April 2020|access-date=9 April 2020}}

NOCs can also use their universality place—each NOC can enter one male athlete regardless of time if they had no male athletes meeting the entry standard for an athletics event—in the hammer throw.

The 2020 competition continued to use the two-round format with divided final introduced in 1936. The qualifying round gave each competitor three throws to achieve a qualifying distance (77.50 metres); if fewer than 12 men did so, the top 12 will advance. The final provided each thrower with three throws; the top eight throwers received an additional three throws for a total of six, with the best to count (qualifying round throws were not considered for the final).{{cite news | title=Athletics Explanatory Guide | publisher=Tokyo 2020 | date=August 2019}}

Prior to this competition, the existing world, Olympic, and area records were as follows.

{{World Olympic Record

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

| world_mark = 86.74

| world_place = Stuttgart, 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

}}

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

The men's hammer throw took place over two separate days.

Qualification rules: qualifying performance 77.50 (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to the final.{{cite web|title=Athletics – Men's Hammer Throw – Qualification – Results|url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/resOG2020-/pdf/OG2020-/ATH/OG2020-_ATH_C73R_ATHMHAMMER------------QUAL--------.pdf|website=olympics.com|publisher=TOCOG|date=2 August 2021|access-date=2 August 2021|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802133131/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/resOG2020-/pdf/OG2020-/ATH/OG2020-_ATH_C73R_ATHMHAMMER------------QUAL--------.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Athletics – Men's Hammer Throw – Qualification – Results Summary|url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/resOG2020-/pdf/OG2020-/ATH/OG2020-_ATH_C74B_ATHMHAMMER------------QUAL--------.pdf|website=olympics.com|publisher=TOCOG|date=2 August 2021|access-date=2 August 2021|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802133053/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/resOG2020-/pdf/OG2020-/ATH/OG2020-_ATH_C74B_ATHMHAMMER------------QUAL--------.pdf|url-status=dead}}

{{Reflist}}

{{OlympicsHammer Throw}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions Hammer Throw Men}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics - Men's hammer throw}}

Men's hammer throw

2020

Category:Men's events at the 2020 Summer Olympics