A Case Study of an American Junior Hammer Throw Record

Background/Purpose: The aim of the hammer throw event in the sport of track and field is to project the hammer as far as possible. A major contributing factor to throwing success is the speed of the hammer, which consists of a metal ball (head) and triangular handle that are connected by a steel cable (wire), at the instant of release. The thrower accelerates the hammer to the instant of release by performing turns across the hammer throw circle, during which time the hammer’s linear speed fluctuates. The coach’s proper understanding and application of the biomechanical data directly impact the performance of athletes in the hammer throw. The purpose of this case study was to describe the USATF Coach’s Education hammer project in which the cooperation between sport science and coaching helped to produce an American junior record of 68.12 meters in the women’s hammer in 2012.

Method: The subject was measured at a height of 173cm, weight of 83 kg, and body fat of 15.9%. After giving consent, the coach was asked to report via a datasheet the age, height and weight of the athlete, throwing volume, as well as her season’s best in the hammer throw and weight throw event and weight room 1RM for the bench press, power clean and squat exercises. In total, the datasheet consisted of eight items. Two digital video cameras (Canon Elura 60) running at 60 Hz were placed to view Shelby Ashe’s best throws at the 2010 USATF Nationals (61.77m), 2011 USATF Junior Nationals (58.34m), and 2012 USATF Junior Nationals (68.12m American Junior Record). Following each of the competitions in 2010 and 2011, the coach collaborated with the sport scientist and chair of USATF coach’s education in order to review and evaluate each of the throws.

Analysis/Results: The record setting throw by Ashe was 1.49 seconds in duration from right foot lift off and produced a release velocity of 26.8 m/s. During the throw, Ashe spent 50.35 percent of the duration of the throw in double support. 

Conclusions: During meetings between the USATF Chair of coaches education, sport scientist, coach, and athlete, improvements in technique focused on increasing velocity of the hammer head. Coaches will benefit from the evaluation of this case study because it bridges the gap between the coach and the researcher through integrating biomechanical analysis in teaching the hammer throw.