Betty Heidler is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the hammer throw. She held the world record from 2011 until 2014 with her personal best throw of 79.42 m. She is the 2012 Olympic silver medallist, the 2007 World champion and the 2009 and 2011 World Championship silver medallist. She also finished fourth in the Olympic finals in 2004 and 2016.
Heidler at the 2007 World Championships
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