Koji Murofushi throwing in Zagreb and winning the overall IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge title (© Zagreb meeting organisers)
27 August 2011Daegu, Korea - Japan’s 36-year-old former Olympic champion Koji Murofushi launched the hammer out to a season’s best of 78.56 metres - the best throw of the day - and with it a reminder to the world of hammer throwing: “Don’t forget about me.”
While Murofushi’s personal best of 84.86m was set eight years ago, he has a family history of enduring competitiveness, given that his father Shigenobu held the Japanese Hammer Throw record before him and competed into his ‘40s.
The 2004 Olympic champion positively swaggered out of the cage after sending the hammer past the automatic qualification standard of 77.00 metres and also past his previous season’s best of 78.10. The effort drew a big roar of appreciation from a healthily populated stadium which had earlier witnessed the Opening Ceremony.
That was quite an act to follow for the next man up – Hungary's Krisztian Pars, whose IAAF World Championships in Berlin two years ago ended in frustration as, having arrived as a favourite, he was displaced from the podium in the final round.
Pars did not make quite such impact, but achieved 77.21 to do the job required with the minimum of effort.
Poland’s 35-year-old Szymon Ziolkowski, Morofushi’s predecessor as Olympic champion, became the third automatic qualifier from Group A with a second round effort of 77.19.
Behind him, double Asian Games winner Dilshod Nazarov of Tajikistan – who also doubles as president of his national Athletics Federation – left his prospects of advancing in an encouraging state as he managed 76.93, with Olli-Pekka Karjalainen of Finland just behind him with a season’s best of 76.60.
Markus Esser of Germany booked his progression early in Group B, reaching 77.60 with his first attempt; Pavel Kryvitski of Belarus took a little longer to join him, achieving the second furthest mark of the day, 78.16, with his third attempt.
Kryvitski’s team-mate Yury Shayunou ensured that he would join him with a throw of 76.74, exactly the same mark that was achieved by Italy’s Nicola Vizzoni.
Meanwhile Olympic and defending champion Primoz Kozmus, of Slovenia, assured himself of a place in the final with an effort of 76.54.
But unlike Murofushi, Sergey Litvinov was narrowly unable to follow in his father’s footsteps. The 25-year-old Russian, whose namesake was Olympic champion in 1988 and World champion in 1983 and 1987, just failed to make the top 12 with an effort of 74.80.
Mike Rowbottom for the IAAF
