Athletics at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's hammer throw

The men's hammer throw event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Thursday, July 10, 1924. 15 hammer throwers from ten nations competed.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation was 4. The event was won by Fred Tootell of the United States, the nation's sixth consecutive victory in the event; the Americans would not win again until 1956. Tootell was the first of the winners to have been born in the United States; the previous winners had all been Irish-American. Fellow American Matt McGrath, the 1908 silver medalist and 1912 champion, took silver once again; he was the second man (after triple gold medalist John Flanagan) to earn three medals in the hammer throw. Malcolm Nokes earned Great Britain's first medal in the event with his bronze.

Men's hammer throw
at the Games of the VIII Olympiad
Fred Tootell competing
VenueStade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir
DateJuly 10
Competitors15 from 10 nations
Winning distance53.295
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Fred Tootell
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Matt McGrath
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Malcolm Nokes
 Great Britain
← 1920
1928 →

Background

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This was the sixth appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1896. Two of the finalists from the 1920 Games returned: silver medalist (and 1912 finalist) Carl Johan Lind of Sweden and fifth-place finisher Matt McGrath of the United States. McGrath had finished second in 1908 and won in 1912; he had injured himself in the 1920 competition and finished fifth despite not getting to make all of his allotted throws. He had been a top thrower since 1907, overlapping John Flanagan at the end of Flanagan's prime for a titanic battle in the 1908 Games, before spending two decades sharing top honors with Patrick Ryan. Ryan had retired earlier in 1924, leaving the young (21 years old to McGrath's 47) Fred Tootell as the primary challenger to McGrath.[2]

Brazil, France, Italy, and the Netherlands each made their debut in the event. The United States appeared for the sixth 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.[2][3]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1924 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, 10 July 1924 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.

Rank Athlete Nation Qualifying Final Distance
  Fred Tootell   United States 50.600 53.295 53.295
  Matt McGrath   United States 47.075 50.840 50.840
  Malcolm Nokes   Great Britain 48.875 Unknown 48.875
4 Erik Eriksson   Finland 47.975 48.740 48.740
5 Ossian Skiöld   Sweden 45.075 45.285 45.285
6 James McEachern   United States 44.935 45.225 45.225
7 Carl Johan Lind   Sweden 44.785 Did not advance 44.785
8 John Murdoch   Canada 42.480 Did not advance 42.480
9 Jack Merchant   United States 41.455 Did not advance 41.455
10 Robert Saint-Pé   France 36.270 Did not advance 36.270
11 Karl Jensen   Denmark 36.265 Did not advance 36.265
12 Pierre Zaïdin   France 36.155 Did not advance 36.155
13 Camilio Zemi   Italy 35.000 Did not advance 35.000
14 Octávio Zani   Brazil 33.895 Did not advance 33.895
Henk Kamerbeek   Netherlands NM Did not advance NM

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1924 Paris Summer Games: Men's Hammer Throw". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Hammer Throw, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  3. ^ Official Report, p. 143.

Sources

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