Men's hammer throw world record progression

The following table shows progression of the world record in the men's hammer throw, as recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The first world record in the event was recognised by the IAAF in 1913. As of June 21, 2009, 45 world records have been ratified by the IAAF in the event.

World record progression

Distance	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date
57.77 m (189 ft 6 in)	Pat Ryan	United States	New York City, United States	August 17, 1913
59.00 m (193 ft 6 in)	Erwin Blask	Germany	Stockholm, Sweden	August 27, 1938
59.02 m (193 ft 7 in)	Imre Németh	Hungary	Tata, Hungary	July 14, 1948
59.57 m (195 ft 5 in)	Imre Németh	Hungary	Katowice, Poland	September 4, 1949
59.88 m (196 ft 5 in)	Imre Németh	Hungary	Budapest, Hungary	May 19, 1950
60.34 m (197 ft 11 in)	József Csermák	Hungary	Helsinki, Finland	July 24, 1952
61.25 m (200 ft 11 in)	Sverre Strandli	Norway	Oslo, Norway	September 14, 1952
62.36 m (204 ft 7 in)	Sverre Strandli	Norway	Oslo, Norway	September 5, 1953
63.34 m (207 ft 9 in)	Mikhail Krivonosov	Soviet Union	Bern, Switzerland	August 29, 1954
64.05 m (210 ft 1 in)	Stanislav Nenashev	Soviet Union	Baku, Soviet Union	December 12, 1954
64.33 m (211 ft 0 in)	Mikhail Krivonosov	Soviet Union	Warsaw, Poland	August 4, 1955
64.52 m (211 ft 8 in)	Mikhail Krivonosov	Soviet Union	Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia	September 19, 1955
65.85 m (216 ft 0 in)	Mikhail Krivonosov	Soviet Union	Nalchik, Soviet Union	April 25, 1956
66.38 m (217 ft 9 in)	Mikhail Krivonosov	Soviet Union	Minsk, Soviet Union	July 8, 1956
67.32 m (220 ft 10 in)	Mikhail Krivonosov	Soviet Union	Tashkent, Soviet Union	October 22, 1956
68.54 m (224 ft 10 in)	Hal Connolly	United States	Los Angeles, United States	November 2, 1956
68.68 m (225 ft 3 in)	Hal Connolly	United States	Bakersfield, United States	June 20, 1958
70.33 m (230 ft 8 in)	Hal Connolly	United States	Walnut, United States	August 12, 1960
70.67 m (231 ft 10 in)	Hal Connolly	United States	Palo Alto, United States	July 21, 1962
71.06 m (233 ft 1 in)	Hal Connolly	United States	Ceres, United States	May 29, 1965
71.26 m (233 ft 9 in)	Hal Connolly	United States	Walnut, United States	June 20, 1965
73.74 m (241 ft 11 in)	Gyula Zsivótzky	Hungary	Debrecen, Hungary	September 4, 1965
73.76 m (241 ft 11 in)	Gyula Zsivótzky	Hungary	Budapest, Hungary	September 14, 1968
74.52 m (244 ft 5 in)	Romuald Klim	Soviet Union	Budapest, Hungary	June 15, 1969
74.68 m (245 ft 0 in)	Anatoliy Bondarchuk	Soviet Union	Piraeus, Greece	September 20, 1969
75.48 m (247 ft 7 in)	Anatoliy Bondarchuk	Soviet Union	Rovno, Soviet Union	October 12, 1969
76.40 m (250 ft 7 in)	Walter Schmidt	West Germany	Lahr, West Germany	September 4, 1971
76.60 m (251 ft 3 in)	Reinhard Theimer	East Germany	Erfurt, East Germany	July 4, 1974
76.66 m (251 ft 6 in)	Aleksei Spiridonov	Soviet Union	Munich, West Germany	September 11, 1974
76.70 m (251 ft 7 in)	Karl-Hans Riehm	West Germany	Rehlingen, West Germany	May 19, 1975
77.56 m (254 ft 5 in)	Karl-Hans Riehm	West Germany	Rehlingen, West Germany	May 19, 1975
78.50 m (257 ft 6 in)	Karl-Hans Riehm	West Germany	Rehlingen, West Germany	May 19, 1975
79.30 m (260 ft 2 in)	Walter Schmidt	West Germany	Frankfurt, West Germany	August 14, 1975
80.14 m (262 ft 11 in)	Boris Zaichuk	Soviet Union	Moscow, Soviet Union	July 9, 1978
80.32 m (263 ft 6 in)	Karl-Hans Riehm	West Germany	Heidenheim, West Germany	August 6, 1978
80.38 m (263 ft 8 in)	Yuriy Sedykh	Soviet Union	Leselidse, Soviet Union	May 16, 1980
80.46 m (263 ft 11 in)	Jüri Tamm	Soviet Union	Leselidse, Soviet Union	May 16, 1980
80.64 m (264 ft 6 in)	Yuriy Sedykh	Soviet Union	Leselidse, Soviet Union	May 16, 1980
81.66 m (267 ft 10 in)	Sergey Litvinov	Soviet Union	Sochi, Soviet Union	May 24, 1980
81.80 m (268 ft 4 in)	Yuriy Sedykh	Soviet Union	Moscow, Soviet Union	July 31, 1980
83.98 m (275 ft 6 in)	Sergey Litvinov	Soviet Union	Moscow, Soviet Union	June 4, 1982
84.14 m (276 ft 0 in)	Sergey Litvinov	Soviet Union	Moscow, Soviet Union	June 21, 1983
86.34 m (283 ft 3 in)	Yuriy Sedykh	Soviet Union	Cork, Ireland	July 3, 1984
86.66 m (284 ft 3 in)	Yuriy Sedykh	Soviet Union	Tallinn, Soviet Union	June 22, 1986
86.74 m (284 ft 6 in)	Yuriy Sedykh	Soviet Union	Stuttgart, West Germany	August 30, 1986

Unratified marks

Distance	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date	Why unratified
59.55 m (195 ft 4 in)	Pat O'Callaghan	Ireland	Fermoy, Ireland	1937	Meeting organised by the NACA, which was suspended by IAAF.

Notes

Many sources do not give the date of Theimer's world record. It occurred in the qualifying round of the East German Championships at Erfurt (not Leipzig), which ran from the July 3–6, 1974. His record came with his very first throw, his series being (76.60 m 73.62 m 73.28 m), which was on day two of the championships, July 4, 1974. Next day, in the championship itself, he threw 73.62 m (241 ft. 6") for first place.