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Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's hammer throw

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Men's hammer throw
at the Games of the III Olympiad
Ralph Rose on the way to the bronze medal.
VenueFrancis Field
DatesAugust 29
Competitors6 from 1 nation
Winning distance51.23 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) John Flanagan
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) John DeWitt
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Ralph Rose
 United States
← 1900
1908 →

The men's hammer throw was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the second time the event was held. The competition was held on Monday, August 29, 1904. Six athletes from the United States competed.[1] John Flanagan, the reigning champion, defended his gold medal and set a new Olympic record. John DeWitt took silver and Ralph Rose bronze. It was the second consecutive medal sweep for the United States in the event. Flanagan was the first man to earn multiple medals in the event; he would finish with three consecutive victories, a record not matched by anyone in the hammer throw.

Background

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This was the second appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1896. John Flanagan was the defending Olympic champion and had won at least 10 national titles across Great Britain, Ireland, and the United States; he was a heavy favorite. John DeWitt was a four-time IC4A champion. Ralph Rose was best known as a shot putter, but had been rumored to have thrown a monstrous 190 feet (57.9 metres). The lack of international competition meant that Great Britain's two-time AAA champion Tom Nicolson was absent. Also not competing was American Alfred Plaw, who had beaten Flanagan to win the AAU championship in 1904.[2]

Competition format

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The format of the competition is unclear. The throwing area was a seven-foot circle.[2]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1904 Summer Olympics.

World record  John Flanagan (USA) 52.71* New York City, United States 31 July 1904
Olympic record  John Flanagan (USA) 51.01 Paris, France 16 July 1900

* unofficial - The IAAF didn't begin to recognize World Records in this event until 1912.[3]

John Flanagan bettered the only Olympic record with 51.23 meters.

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Monday, 29 August 1904 Final

Results

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John Flanagan throwing the hammer
Rank Athlete Nation Distance Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) John Flanagan  United States 51.23 OR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) John DeWitt  United States 50.26
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Ralph Rose  United States 45.73
4 Charles Chadwick  United States 42.78
5 James Mitchel  United States Unknown
6 Albert Johnson  United States Unknown

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1904 St. Louis 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. ^ "World Record Progression". trackandfield.about.com. About.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.

Sources

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