Men · World record
Hammer Throw
The current record and its documented progression: 45 ratified records from 1913 to 1986, with 6 not ratified shown in place, plus 82 earlier marks recorded before the IAAF began ratifying records.
Current record
86.74
Yuriy SedykhURSStuttgart · 30 Aug 1986
40 years standing0.08 m improvementAll-time top 50 →
Record progression
Each step is a documented record; hollow marks were rescinded, not ratified or are pending
86.7457.77
Documented records
45 ratified · 6 not ratified · most recent first · Wikipedia (EN) revision 1372027197, imported 2 Sep 2026
| Mark | Athlete | Nation | Venue | Date | Stood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86.74 | Yuriy Sedykh | URS | Stuttgart, West Germany | 30 Aug 1986 | 40 yrs |
| 86.66 | Yuriy Sedykh | URS | Tallinn, Soviet Union | 22 Jun 1986 | 69 d |
| 86.34 | Yuriy Sedykh | URS | Cork, Ireland | 3 Jul 1984 | 1 yr |
| 84.14 | Sergey Litvinov | URS | Moscow, Soviet Union | 21 Jun 1983 | 1 yr |
| 83.98 | Sergey Litvinov | URS | Moscow, Soviet Union | 4 Jun 1982 | 1 yr |
| 81.80 | Yuriy Sedykh | URS | Moscow, Soviet Union | 31 Jul 1980 | 1 yr |
| 81.66 | Sergey Litvinov | URS | Sochi, Soviet Union | 24 May 1980 | 68 d |
| 80.64 | Yuriy Sedykh | URS | Leselidse, Soviet Union | 16 May 1980 | 8 d |
| 80.46 | Jüri Tamm | URS | Leselidse, Soviet Union | 16 May 1980 | 0 d |
| 80.38 | Yuriy Sedykh | URS | Leselidse, Soviet Union | 16 May 1980 | 0 d |
| 80.32 | Karl-Hans Riehm | FRG | Heidenheim, West Germany | 6 Aug 1978 | 1 yr |
| 80.14 | Boris Zaichuk | URS | Moscow, Soviet Union | 9 Jul 1978 | 28 d |
| 79.30 | Walter Schmidt | FRG | Frankfurt, West Germany | 14 Aug 1975 | 2 yrs |
| 78.50 | Karl-Hans Riehm | FRG | Rehlingen, West Germany | 19 May 1975 | 87 d |
| 77.56 | Karl-Hans Riehm | FRG | Rehlingen, West Germany | 19 May 1975 | 0 d |
| 76.70 | Karl-Hans Riehm | FRG | Rehlingen, West Germany | 19 May 1975 | 0 d |
| 76.66 | Aleksei Spiridonov | URS | Munich, West Germany | 11 Sep 1974 | 250 d |
| 76.60 | Reinhard Theimer | GDR | Erfurt, East Germany | 4 Jul 1974 | 69 d |
| 76.40 | Walter Schmidt | FRG | Lahr, West Germany | 4 Sep 1971 | 2 yrs |
| 75.48 | Anatoliy Bondarchuk | URS | Rovno, Soviet Union | 12 Oct 1969 | 1 yr |
| 74.68 | Anatoliy Bondarchuk | URS | Piraeus, Greece | 20 Sep 1969 | 22 d |
| 74.52 | Romuald Klim | URS | Budapest, Hungary | 15 Jun 1969 | 97 d |
| 73.76 | Gyula Zsivótzky | HUN | Budapest, Hungary | 14 Sep 1968 | 274 d |
| 73.74 | Gyula Zsivótzky | HUN | Debrecen, Hungary | 4 Sep 1965 | 3 yrs |
| 71.26 | Hal Connolly | USA | Walnut, United States | 20 Jun 1965 | 76 d |
| 71.06 | Hal Connolly | USA | Ceres, United States | 29 May 1965 | 22 d |
| 70.67 | Hal Connolly | USA | Palo Alto, United States | 21 Jul 1962 | 2 yrs |
| 70.33 | Hal Connolly | USA | Walnut, United States | 12 Aug 1960 | 1 yr |
| 68.68 | Hal Connolly | USA | Bakersfield, United States | 20 Jun 1958 | 2 yrs |
| 68.54 | Hal Connolly | USA | Los Angeles, United States | 2 Nov 1956 | 1 yr |
| 67.32 | Mikhail Krivonosov | URS | Tashkent, Soviet Union | 22 Oct 1956 | 11 d |
| 66.85 | Mikhail Krivonosov Not ratified | URS | Tashkent, Soviet Union | 22 Oct 1956 | |
| 66.71 | Hal Connolly Not ratified | USA | Boston, United States | 3 Oct 1956 | |
| 66.38 | Mikhail Krivonosov | URS | Minsk, Soviet Union | 8 Jul 1956 | 106 d |
| 65.95 | Cliff Blair Not ratified | USA | Needham, United States | 4 Jul 1956 | |
| 65.85 | Mikhail Krivonosov | URS | Nalchik, Soviet Union | 25 Apr 1956 | 74 d |
| 64.52 | Mikhail Krivonosov | URS | Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia | 19 Sep 1955 | 219 d |
| 64.33 | Mikhail Krivonosov | URS | Warsaw, Poland | 4 Aug 1955 | 46 d |
| 64.05 | Stanislav Nenashev | URS | Baku, Soviet Union | 12 Dec 1954 | 235 d |
| 63.34 | Mikhail Krivonosov | URS | Bern, Switzerland | 29 Aug 1954 | 105 d |
| 62.36 | Sverre Strandli | NOR | Oslo, Norway | 5 Sep 1953 | 358 d |
| 61.25 | Sverre Strandli | NOR | Oslo, Norway | 14 Sep 1952 | 356 d |
| 60.34 | József Csermák | HUN | Helsinki, Finland | 24 Jul 1952 | 52 d |
| 59.88 | Imre Németh | HUN | Budapest, Hungary | 19 May 1950 | 2 yrs |
| 59.57 | Imre Németh | HUN | Katowice, Poland | 4 Sep 1949 | 257 d |
| 59.02 | Imre Németh | HUN | Tata, Hungary | 14 Jul 1948 | 1 yr |
| 59.00 | Erwin Blask | GER | Stockholm, Sweden | 27 Aug 1938 | 9 yrs |
| 58.24 | Karl Hein Not ratified | GER | Osnabrück, Germany | 21 Aug 1938 | |
| 58.13 | Erwin Blask Not ratified | GER | Berlin, Germany | 7 Aug 1938 | |
| 59.56 | Pat O'Callaghan Not ratified | IRL | Fermoy, Ireland | 22 Aug 1937 | |
| 57.77 | Patrick Ryan | GBR | New York, United States | 17 Aug 1913 | 25 yrs |
Rows link to a profile only where the athlete appears on a published list. Struck marks were rescinded or never ratified, and A marks a performance at altitude; both come from the source article's own key and markers, and eras are kept as it lists them. Nothing is inferred.
Before official ratification
82 entries · not ratified · marks from before the IAAF (now World Athletics) began ratifying records, or never ratified, shown for context only
27.74Adam Wilson GBR10 May 1828
31.75Robert Nevins GBR12 Oct 1836
33.00George Scott GBR25 Oct 1839
33.36John Stevenson GBR5 Oct 1841
17.84Charles Adams GBR30 Apr 1856
18.11Ralph A. Cameron GBR25 Sep 1856
18.56John Maxwell GBR14 Nov 1857
19.61John Jerman GBROctober X,1858
24.23David Morgan GBR16 Feb 1864
25.35David Morgan GBR2 Mar 1864
26.39David Morgan GBR18 Mar 1865
27.80David Morgan GBR2 Mar 1866
28.29George Thornton GBR29 Mar 1867
30.12John Eyre GBR12 Apr 1867
30.33Thomas Batson GBR3 Apr 1868
30.33Henry Leeke GBR19 Jun 1868
30.91Francis Waite GBR18 Mar 1869
31.68Henry Leeke GBR18 Mar 1869
32.67Francis Waite GBR7 Apr 1870
33.22William Burgess GBR8 Dec 1870
33.22Edward Garnier GBR8 Feb 1872
34.01Henry Leeke GBR27 Mar 1872
34.19William Burgess GBR2 Nov 1872
37.29Stephen Brown GBR17 Mar 1873
37.34Stephen Brown GBR31 Mar 1873
38.64George Hales GBR27 Mar 1874
38.71George Hales GBR19 Mar 1875
40.51George Hales GBR24 Nov 1875
41.38George Hales GBR24 Feb 1876
42.14George Hales GBR7 Apr 1876
29.33George Hales GBR10 Apr 1876
33.53George Hales GBR26 Mar 1877
33.73Owen Harte GBR19 Apr 1884
34.80Owen Harte GBR29 Jul 1884
30.12Edmund Baddeley GBR15 Apr 1878
30.12Maurice Davin GBR16 Jul 1881
30.85John Gruer GBR30 Jun 1883
33.00William Barry GBR17 Jun 1885
35.51William Barry GBR24 Jun 1885
35.61William Barry GBR11 Jul 1885
36.27William Barry GBR1 Oct 1885
36.27William Barry GBR17 Apr 1886
36.40James Mitchel GBR16 Jun 1886
36.50James Mitchel GBR9 Jun 1887
37.06William Barry GBR1 Oct 1887
37.35William Barry GBR29 Jul 1888
39.41William Barry GBR12 Aug 1888
38.91James Mitchel GBR18 May 1889
40.46James Mitchel GBR12 Jun 1889
40.74James Mitchel GBR10 Oct 1889
40.80James Mitchel GBR13 Jun 1891
42.41James Mitchel GBR12 Sep 1891
42.63James Mitchel GBR29 Sep 1891
43.06James Mitchel GBR10 Oct 1891
43.20James Mitchel GBR18 Jun 1892
44.21James Mitchel GBR8 Oct 1892
44.46John Flanagan GBR9 Sep 1895
44.80John Flanagan GBR6 Apr 1896
45.93John Flanagan GBR30 May 1897
46.81John Flanagan GBR15 May 1898
46.83Josiah McCracken USA31 May 1898
47.18John Flanagan GBR11 Jun 1898
48.26John Flanagan GBR11 Jun 1898
48.27John Flanagan GBR23 Jul 1898
50.01John Flanagan GBR22 Jul 1899
50.24John Flanagan GBR30 Jul 1899
50.82John Flanagan GBR23 Sep 1899
51.10John Flanagan GBR23 Sep 1899
51.21John Flanagan GBR29 Sep 1900
51.61John Flanagan GBR29 Sep 1900
52.35John Flanagan USA2 Sep 1901
52.73John Flanagan USA31 Jul 1904
52.90Matt McGrath USA21 Sep 1907
52.98John Flanagan USA3 Aug 1908
54.84John Flanagan USA26 Jun 1909
54.86John Flanagan USA26 Jun 1909
56.18John Flanagan USA24 Jul 1909
57.10Matt McGrath USA29 Oct 1911
39.62James Mitchel GBR6 Nov 1888
54.38John Flanagan USA5 May 1901
54.38Ralph Rose USA6 Jun 1909
63.40Fred Tootell USASeptember 1924