Who holds the record for the longest throw ever in the men’s javelin?

The world record for the men’s javelin was first recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 1912 and progressed, steadily, until 1980. However, on April 23 that year, Hungarian Ferenc Paragi threw 96.72 metres, beating the previous record, set by compatriot Miklós Németh four years earlier, by 2.14 metres. On May 15, 1983, American Tom Petranoff threw 99.72 metres, beating the existing world record by exactly 3.00 metres, but even that effort was eclipsed, just over a year later, by East German Uwe Hohn.

On July 20, 1984, at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Stadion in what was, at the time, East Berlin, Hohn threw a prodigious 104.80 metres, shattering the previous world record by 5.08 metres. Hohn remains the only man ever to have throw a javelin beyond 100 metres. Two years later, the design of the javelin was changed, moving the centre of gravity forward, with result of shortening distances and increasing the likelihood of a ‘point-first’ landing. Consequently, all previous world records were rescinded.

Similarly, in 1991, the serrated tail, or Németh, model javelin was made illegal by the IAAF and the world record reverted to that set the previous year with a legal model. By way of comparison, the current world record for the men’s javelin is the 98.48 metres thrown by Czech legend Jan Železný on May 25, 1996.