The strong but nimble men – and, since the 2000 Olympics, women – who throw the metal ball we call the hammer have staged some memorable duels since the sport was introduced at the 1900 Olympics.
1. 1956 - Connolly wins the gold and the girl
American Harold Connolly’s world record wasn’t threatened at the 1956 Olympics. Nevertheless he found himself behind two throwers from the Soviet Union entering the fifth round of competition. Anatoly Samotsvetov had taken the lead with his first throw, which measured 203 feet, 9 inches. Mikhail Krovonosov bettered that with toss of 206-8 in the second round. In the fifth round Connolly, whose left arm was dysfunctional due to an accident at birth, topped a 20-year-old Olympic record with a winning throw measuring 207-3 (63.19 meters). Connolly also found time to pierce the Iron Curtain and romance Czechoslovakian discus gold medal winner Olga Fikotova. The two were eventually married, but divorced in 1973.2. 1968 - Zsivotzky wins see-saw hammer duel
World record holder Gyula Zsivotzky of Hungary and Romuald Klim of the Soviet Union – who’d defeated Zsivotzky in nine consecutive competitions – staged a stirring duel in Mexico City. Klim took the lead with a 237-foot throw in the first round, but Zsivotzky responded with a toss measuring 237-9 in the second. Klim grabbed the lead back, throwing 238-11 in the third round, then increased the margin with a 240-5 toss in the fourth. Zsivotzky then took charge in the fifth with a gold medal-winning throw of 240-8 (73.36 meters), to set the Olympic mark.
