Hammer Throw II (c. 1900)

This lantern slide, “Hammer Throw II (c. 1900),” shows a student at the International YMCA Training School (now known as Springfield College) demonstrating a hammer throw.The hammer throw is one of four throwing events in regular track and field competitions. Dating back to the 15th century, it is one of the oldest competitions in the Olympic Games. Although commonly thought of as a strength event, technical advancements in the last thirty years have turned the focus to speed, in order to achieve maximum distance. Track and Field contains a series of athletic competitions based on running, jumping, and throwing. The name comes from the venue: a stadium with an oval running track around a grass field. The first recorded examples of organized track and field events at a sports festival are the Ancient Olympic Games in 776 BC. The stone put and weight throw competitions popular among Celtic societies in Ireland and Scotland were precursors to the modern shot put and hammer throw events. One of the last track and field events to develop was the pole vault, which stemmed from 18th century competitions in the Northern European Lowlands. Discrete modern track and field competitions, separate from general sporting festivals, were first recorded in the 19th century.Minor foxing