Google is back at it once again, as they have for every day of the Olympics, with a brand new Google Doodle. Today’s Doodle celebrates the sport of Javelin Throw with Knowledge Graph paying close attention to the women’s qualifying round in Javelin taking place tomorrow, August 7.
Even if you have never participated in Track and Field, you are no doubt aware of the Javelin Throw. According to Wikipedia, the javelin throw came into being during the time in which the Greeks were using spears as a throwing weapon, much like the javelin. The javelin was essentially a lighter spear so that athletes could focus on throwing it further during competition instead of trying to kill somebody with the pure force of weight that a regular spear had.
You’re in luck if you were wanting to watch the event, the javelin throw event has yet to take place. The first qualifying round for women will take place on August 7 and the men’s will take place on August 8. The finals in will take place on August 9 for women and August 10 for men.
Beyond the actual competition, one thing to watch for is the emergence of any new world records. Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic holds the women’s record from 2008 with a 72.38 m throw. She will competing for the Czech Republic again this year so a new record is very possible. Watch her record performance at the 2008 games below:
As for men, Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway won the 2008 javelin toss with a distance of 90.57 m. It was an impressive throw for sure, but nobody has yet to conquer the distance set by Jan Zelezny of the Czech Republic with a throw measuring 98.48 m. Thorkildsen has a chance to break that record this year. Check out his winning performance from 2008: