Athletics at the 1928 Summer Olympics – Men's hammer throw

The men's hammer throw event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1928 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Monday, July 30, 1928. Sixteen hammer throwers from eleven nations competed.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation was 4.[2] The event was won by Pat O'Callaghan of Ireland, the first gold medal for the nation at the Olympics since it started competing independently in 1924 and the first time the event was won by a non-American (though five of the previous six winners had been born in Ireland before emigrating to the United States). Ossian Skiöld of Sweden took silver, the nation's second medal in the event after another silver in 1920. The Americans, who had earned a gold medal and at least one other medal in each of the previous six hammer throw competitions, took only a bronze this time, with Edmund Black finishing third.

Men's hammer throw
at the Games of the IX Olympiad
Pat O'Callaghan
VenueOlympic Stadium
DateJuly 30
Competitors16 from 11 nations
Winning distance51.39
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Pat O'Callaghan
 Ireland
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ossian Skiöld
 Sweden
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Edmund Black
 United States
← 1924
1932 →

Background

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This was the seventh appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1896. Three of the six finalists from the 1924 Games returned: bronze medalist Malcolm Nokes of Great Britain, fourth-place finisher Erik Eriksson of Finland, and fifth-place finisher Ossian Skiöld of Sweden. Also returning was 1920 silver medalist (and 1912 finalist and 1924 seventh-place finisher) Carl Johan Lind of Sweden.[3]

Three-time medalist Matt McGrath, then 51 years old, tried to compete again but finished fifth at the U.S. trials to barely miss making the team.[4]

Argentina, Chile, Ireland, Japan, and Norway each made their debut in the event. The United States appeared for the seventh time, the only nation to have competed at each appearance of the event to that point.

Competition format

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The competition continued to use the divided-final format used since 1908, with results carrying over between "rounds". Each athlete received three throws in the qualifying round. The top six men advanced to the final, where they received an additional three throws. The best result, qualifying or final, counted.[3][5]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1928 Summer Olympics.

World record   Patrick Ryan (USA) 57.77 New York City, United States 17 August 1913
Olympic record   Matt McGrath (USA) 54.74 Stockholm, Sweden 14 July 1912

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Thursday, 28 July 1928  
14:00
Qualifying
Final

Results

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The best six throwers qualified for the final. The throwing order and the throwing series are not available. The final was held on the same day.

Rank Athlete Nation Qualifying Final Distance
  Pat O'Callaghan   Ireland 47.49 51.39 51.39
  Ossian Skiöld   Sweden 51.29 Unknown 51.29
  Edmund Black   United States 49.03 Unknown 49.03
4 Armando Poggioli   Italy 46.96 48.37 48.37
5 Donald Gwinn   United States 47.15 Unknown 47.15
6 Frank Conner   United States 46.75 Unknown 46.75
7 Federico Kleger   Argentina 46.61 Did not advance 46.61
8 Ricardo Bayer   Chile 46.34 Did not advance 46.34
9 Erik Eriksson   Finland 46.22 Did not advance 46.22
10 Henk Kamerbeek   Netherlands 46.02 Did not advance 46.02
11 Malcolm Nokes   Great Britain 45.37 Did not advance 45.37
12 Kenneth Caskey   United States 44.80 Did not advance 44.80
13 Camillo Zemi   Italy 44.47 Did not advance 44.47
14 Carl Johan Lind   Sweden 44.46 Did not advance 44.46
15 Yoshio Okita   Japan 44.41 Did not advance 44.41
16 Harald Stenerud   Norway 41.06 Did not advance 41.06

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Men's Hammer Throw". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  2. ^ Official Report, p. 374.
  3. ^ a b "Hammer Throw, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Hammer Throw, Men (1924)". Olympedia. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  5. ^ Official Report, p. 457.
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