Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's hammer throw
The men's hammer throw at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the ANZ Stadium on Saturday, 23 September and Sunday, 24 September. There were 44 competitors from 24 nations. The event was won by Szymon Ziółkowski of Poland, the nation's first victory in the event and first medal of any color in the men's hammer throw since 1960. Silver went to Nicola Vizzoni, the first medal winner in the event for Italy. Igor Astapkovich, who had won a silver medal on the Unified Team in 1992, took bronze for the first medal credited to Belarus in the event. Astapkovich was the 11th man to win multiple medals in the hammer throw.
Szymon Ziółkowski (2001)
The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin.
The traditional Highland games version of the event
Scottish hammer throw illustration from Frank R. Stockton's book Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact and Fancy
Irish American John Flanagan in the hammer throw competition at the Summer Olympics 1908 in London
The contemporary version of the hammer throw