I have always been attracted by the javelin. I find it the most elegant of throws. One of the most succesfull posts of this blog is "the javelin controversy" where I tell the story of the (very) short-lived "spanish" style, which could have revolutionised the javelin discipline.
The javelin is the only throwing discipline where the women's implement is not equal (or at least very close) to half of the men's implement weight. With 600 gr and 800 gr the ratio is exactly 3/4 resulting to records which are very different for the two sexes. In a previous post I have addressed this problem, in particular investigating the possibility to bring the records closer thanks to an even lighter javelin for women. But let me give some background before presenting the conclusions of that study. The main ingredient of my approach is a simple mathematical expression that gives the dependence of the length L of the throw on the mass m of the implement. (This approximate formula was derived in a publication of mine in New Studies in Athletics, 29:1 (2014) p. 75-81).
L=a/(m+f)
The quantity f entering the expression above quantifies the inertia of the thrower's arm in the particular throwing style under consideration. To put it simply, the quantity f is different for each of the four different throws. From the expression above one sees immediately that when the mass of the implement becomes very large, the length of the throw goes to zero. On the other hand when the mass of the implement goes to zero, the length of the throw does not increase beyond a certain value. And this is true even when one neglects all aerodynamical effects: there is a limit to the speed at which one can move one's arm.
If one has a reliable estimate of the value of f one can predict the possible performances with lighter, or heavier, implements. In the case of javelin throw, as explained in the aforementioned post, I obtained a value of f=0.5 kg for javelin throw. Another estimate based on the performances of K. Walcott in his junior years, when he threw both with a 700 gr and a 800 gr javelin, yielded a value of a few hundred grams, an indication that the half-kilogram value is not unreasonable. In what follows I will present all my estimates based on this value.
The conclusion of the article on lighter implements was that having the women throw with a 400 gr javelin (i.e. half the weight of that of men's) will not suffice in order to align their performances to those of men. The women's world record would still be situated below 90 m. And of course this is a very crude estimate which does not take into account the aerodynamical problems arising from the use of such a light implement. Having realised this, I decided to consider an alternative: instead of reducing the weight of the women's javelin, how about increasing the weight of that of men's? What would be the equivalent of a 98 m throw with the 800 gr javelin, if the latter would have a mass of 1.2 kg? Applying the formula we find that the world record would be a mere 75 m. Thus the comparison between men's and women's records would be perfectly in line with that of the other three throws.
Of course, this is something unthinkable today, since it would add 50 % to the weight of the implement male throwers are accustomed to. But had the discipline started with, say, 1 kg javelins, for which the formula predicts a record of 82 m, it would have been, perhaps marginally, possible to introduce a 500 gr javelin for women for which the predicted record is situated at 80 m.
So a men's heavier javelin would be the solution for a parity between man's and women's records. On the other hand with a world record at 75 m most throwers would have to content themselves with throws in the 60-70 m range, (and the best decathletes barely throwing beyond 50 m). Well, although I am happy for having found the proper way to establish parity between men and women in javelin throw, I would never seriously recommend such a solution (technical problems aside). Throws of barely 60 m are underwhelming compared to the 90 m throws we are currently enjoying. (In fact, these "short" throws are making women's javelin throw less spectacular compared to men's).
If I were to recommend something, that would be to go to the opposite direction. When I wrote my article on the spanish style, I was feeling that that style should have been the one adopted. After all, we know today that the most efficient throwing style is the rotational one. And we should supplement that style with Held-type gliding javelins or at least Nemeth-rough-tail ones. Then the world record would be around 130 m, if not more, and we would be enjoying spectacular flights. But, of course, one can only dream.
World record holder, J. Zelezny
The javelin is the only throwing discipline where the women's implement is not equal (or at least very close) to half of the men's implement weight. With 600 gr and 800 gr the ratio is exactly 3/4 resulting to records which are very different for the two sexes. In a previous post I have addressed this problem, in particular investigating the possibility to bring the records closer thanks to an even lighter javelin for women. But let me give some background before presenting the conclusions of that study. The main ingredient of my approach is a simple mathematical expression that gives the dependence of the length L of the throw on the mass m of the implement. (This approximate formula was derived in a publication of mine in New Studies in Athletics, 29:1 (2014) p. 75-81).
The quantity f entering the expression above quantifies the inertia of the thrower's arm in the particular throwing style under consideration. To put it simply, the quantity f is different for each of the four different throws. From the expression above one sees immediately that when the mass of the implement becomes very large, the length of the throw goes to zero. On the other hand when the mass of the implement goes to zero, the length of the throw does not increase beyond a certain value. And this is true even when one neglects all aerodynamical effects: there is a limit to the speed at which one can move one's arm.
World record holder B. Spotakova
If one has a reliable estimate of the value of f one can predict the possible performances with lighter, or heavier, implements. In the case of javelin throw, as explained in the aforementioned post, I obtained a value of f=0.5 kg for javelin throw. Another estimate based on the performances of K. Walcott in his junior years, when he threw both with a 700 gr and a 800 gr javelin, yielded a value of a few hundred grams, an indication that the half-kilogram value is not unreasonable. In what follows I will present all my estimates based on this value.
World champion J. Yego
The conclusion of the article on lighter implements was that having the women throw with a 400 gr javelin (i.e. half the weight of that of men's) will not suffice in order to align their performances to those of men. The women's world record would still be situated below 90 m. And of course this is a very crude estimate which does not take into account the aerodynamical problems arising from the use of such a light implement. Having realised this, I decided to consider an alternative: instead of reducing the weight of the women's javelin, how about increasing the weight of that of men's? What would be the equivalent of a 98 m throw with the 800 gr javelin, if the latter would have a mass of 1.2 kg? Applying the formula we find that the world record would be a mere 75 m. Thus the comparison between men's and women's records would be perfectly in line with that of the other three throws.
Olympic champion K. Walcott
Of course, this is something unthinkable today, since it would add 50 % to the weight of the implement male throwers are accustomed to. But had the discipline started with, say, 1 kg javelins, for which the formula predicts a record of 82 m, it would have been, perhaps marginally, possible to introduce a 500 gr javelin for women for which the predicted record is situated at 80 m.
World champion M. Manjani
So a men's heavier javelin would be the solution for a parity between man's and women's records. On the other hand with a world record at 75 m most throwers would have to content themselves with throws in the 60-70 m range, (and the best decathletes barely throwing beyond 50 m). Well, although I am happy for having found the proper way to establish parity between men and women in javelin throw, I would never seriously recommend such a solution (technical problems aside). Throws of barely 60 m are underwhelming compared to the 90 m throws we are currently enjoying. (In fact, these "short" throws are making women's javelin throw less spectacular compared to men's).
Olympic and World champion A. Thorkildsen
If I were to recommend something, that would be to go to the opposite direction. When I wrote my article on the spanish style, I was feeling that that style should have been the one adopted. After all, we know today that the most efficient throwing style is the rotational one. And we should supplement that style with Held-type gliding javelins or at least Nemeth-rough-tail ones. Then the world record would be around 130 m, if not more, and we would be enjoying spectacular flights. But, of course, one can only dream.
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