Andriy Martynyuk of Ukraine during the Hammer Throw qualification (© Getty Images)
Six throws into the competition of the Boys’ Hammer Throw final and it had already been won. Ukraine’s Andriy Martynyuk unleashed a monster 76.09m throw on his first attempt, which remained the winning effort for the duration of the competition.
But it did not go unchallenged. In what proved to be one of the highest quality competitions of all-time at the youth level, 11 of the 12 finalists threw over 70m with 28 throws in excess of that mark altogether. Hungary’s Daniel Szabo improved steadily in the first four rounds to move up to second with 75.30m. He backed it up in the final round with 75.21m.
Germany’s Richard Albrick, ranked second coming into the championships, also achieved his best mark in round four with 75.18m. USA’s Conor McCullough, who led yesterday’s qualifying round with 75.98m, only had three legal efforts, the best being 74.54m. But he was denied what looked to be an even bigger throw in the final round as it was declared a foul in the circle.
Finland’s Kai Rasanen was fifth with a PB of 74.36m and Britain’s Peter Smith was sixth with a season’s best of 72.79m. Hungary’s Norbert Schveger and Alek Dubitsi of Belarus made up the top eight with 71.83m and 71.10m respectively.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
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