Why Jan Železný’s javelin world record remains unbroken nearly 30 years on

Although it’s no longer the official world record, 104.8 metres (343 ft 9 in) is the farthest a javelin has ever been thrown by a human.

Achieved by German athlete Uwe Hohn in 1984, it became known as the “eternal world record” after the javelin was redesigned in 1986 as a response to frequent flat landings and the increasing distances of throws, which posed a potential danger to spectators and officials.

The changes saw the javelin's centre of gravity moved forward, reducing the distance it could fly and leading the IAAF to reset the world record.

However, many also consider the modern javelin world record – 98.48 m (323 ft 1 in) – to be unbreakable, having stood for almost 30 years.

It was set on 25 May 1996 at an athletics meet in Jena, Germany, by Jan Železný (Czech Republic).

Železný is widely considered the greatest javelin thrower ever; he broke the world record four times and won three Olympic gold medals during his career.

Jan Železný

But most athletics world records – barring outliers like the women’s 100 m – are regularly broken every few years, so why hasn’t Železný’s been beaten yet?

The closest anyone has come was a 97.76-m throw by Germany’s Johannes Vetter in 2020.

Trailing far behind Železný and Vetter – who share between them the nine farthest throws in history – is every other elite javelin thrower from the past three decades, none of whom were able to reach the 94-m mark.

There are a few reasons why Železný’s record has remained untouched.

He set it at the Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld, an open stadium with a major stand on only one side, where he enjoyed near-perfect conditions for javelin throwing.

A strong but legal tailwind carried Železný’s javelin almost three metres further than his previous world record of 95.66, which was also achieved at an open stadium and remains the fifth-farthest throw of all time.

Železný’s competitors also threw further than they’d ever done before: second-placed Raymond Hecht achieved 90.06, making it the first competition in which two athletes went beyond 90; and third-placed Boris Obergföll (then-named Boris Henry) threw 86.94, a distance which would have earned him gold at the 2019 World Championships and silver at the 2020 Olympics.

Obergföll, who went on to become the German Athletics Federation’s head javelin coach, believes that Vetter in 2020 would have become the first man since Hohn to break the 100-metre barrier if he’d benefited from the same conditions that Železný did during his world record throw.

Nowadays, there aren’t as many open stadiums on the Diamond League circuit, and athletes don’t always prioritize competing at them, instead focussing on events which offer more prize money.

In fact, Železný wasn’t even planning to attend the competition where he set his record – it was a late addition to his schedule.

But Železný isn’t the only javelin thrower in history to have performed in favourable conditions.

What set him apart from everyone else was his incredible run-up speed and unparalleled technique.

“My technique was my strongest point—the feeling of getting the javelin to fly in the right way,” he said in a 2006 interview with Track & Field News.

“I was always more of a technical thrower than a strong physical athlete. There was also my strong will to achieve something. I put all I had into training and the best preparation.”

Interestingly, Železný once said that his world record throw was “not perfect technically”, with “small things that could be improved everywhere”, including his hands, feet and shoulders.

Using machines which replicate the javelin-throwing power of humans, biomechanists have discovered that with perfect technique, release speed and trajectory, 100-m throws are easily achievable, indicating that it’s possible to surpass Železný’s record.

And with the sport increasing in popularity beyond just central Europe and Scandinavia, there is an increased likelihood of a new record breaker emerging. 

2012 saw Trinidad and Tobago’s Kelshorn Walcott become the first black Olympic javelin gold medallist, while Julius Yego (Kenya) and Anderson Peters (Grenada) also became world champions during the past decade.

This year’s favourite to win gold is reigning Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra of India, who happens to be coached by none other than Uwe Hohn. 

Chopra’s personal best is 89.94, but with youth on his side, the 26-year-old will be gunning to reach Železný’s record within the next few years.

He is one of many talented young throwers to emerge in recent years – not just in javelin, but also in discus and shotput.

The discus world record had stood for nearly 39 years, making it the longest-standing record in men’s athletics, before 21-year-old Mykolas Alekna (Lithuania) broke it in April this year.

And the shotput world record stood from 1990 until 2021, when it was broken by Ryan Crouser (USA), who beat his own record last year and recently won gold at the Paris Olympics.

It seems only a matter of time before Železný’s record also falls, though it likely won’t be this year, with there being only one athlete to have thrown over 90 m so far in 2024.