A Slightly More Scientific Approach To Javelin Throwing
A longtime student of javelin technique, British coach Wilf Paish shares some of his current thinking on the event with us.

By Wilf Paish, U.K.

    I intended to write this article some two Olympiads ago, but time and illness encouraged me to direct my energy towards directly helping young throwers and novice coaches to gain a greater expertise in this classic of the field events. About a decade ago, a group of coaches, mainly from the U.K., insisted that the front leg during delivery must remain rigid. They were influenced by a relatively inexperienced biomechanist who in turn was influenced by a relatively nebulous property of physics known as the "Hinged Moment" principle. Researching most of the standard texts on physics, I cannot find any scientifically based definition of the phenomenon. I have reference to it in a small pamphlet, now very dated, as evidence relating to javelin throwing.
    We all know that if we try to alight from a moving vehicle, with our feet stationary, the momentum will be transferred to the body as a whole, with the extremity (head) experiencing a greater acceleration. Thus, scientists applied this prin­ciple to javelin throwing. Stop the bottom half of the body by using a braced front leg and the upper body (arm/ shoulder) will accelerate, giv­ing the javelin a greater speed of release.
    I have viewed most of our Olympians in action and none used a firmly braced front leg. Indeed, it is my belief, that to make full use of the aerodynamic properties of the javelin, the front leg must be used as a ramp. If braced firmly, it will slow the body at a most critical time, and it will promote rotation about the horizontal (transverse) axis in the frontal plane, causing the body to "pike". This will in effect cause the javelin to follow a simple parabolic flight path, when what is required is an extended parabola.
    It is a wonderful sight to see a javelin launched like an aircraft taking-off, gaining lift from its flight properties. Should one rely upon Newtonian principles by ramping the front leg, one can increase the range of action, thus the value of work/ impulse increases by a significant amount, in turn contributing to a greater speed of release.
    I would prefer to encourage athletes/coaches to view the event as one where the significant speed of release is gained from rotation about the long vertical axis in the transverse plane. The body should take full advantage of a clever series of short, speed-effective levers that contribute to the whole.
    For the remainder of this article my reference is the more common right handed thrower. This "clever" lever system, coming into release, starts with the right heel turning out (counterclockwise) with its pivot about the toes of the right foot. This is followed in turn by a speed-effective lever of the right knee rotating about the pivotal points of the femur/tibia/fibula.
    Again in turn the hip pivots about the spine/femur, thence the shoulder is in liaison with the spine and eventually the elbow and hand rotate about their respective pivots. These are all speed-effective levers that produce "torque" and thus the characteristics of the "bowed" position. The left side remains firm, but not braced, to provide an axis about which the rotation can function.
    My simple words of advice to the thrower at this stage of the action is to keep the chest square and going "up" after the javelin. If the levers are used correctly the athlete should be able to "chase the javelin out," thus needing a controlled recovery to comply with the rules of the event.
    At this stage of the proceedings, it is important that the left shoulder does not drop, nor rotate backwards beyond its frontal plane and vertical axis, producing negative accelera­tion and detracting from the speed of the right shoulder.
    The situation demands a fine eye from the coach, a kinesthetic awareness from the athlete, and a belief in the fact that the speed of the arm is all-important. Look carefully at what the Olympians do. Their efforts are not dictated by any laws of physics, but rather by the anatomical constraints of the levers of the body driven by its muscles and what it can accommodate in the pursuit of a greater arm speed. It will certainly hurt to a degree, thus the event is not one for the faint-hearted.
    All throwers will not have an identical technique. The smaller thrower, with restricted lever potential, will have a slightly different technique from the taller thrower. This is the beauty of adaptation and the challenges faced by the coach. However, one cannot retreat from the value of speed at every aspect of the throw-thus my recommenda­tion of using the front leg as a ramp, rather than a brake on fluidity, and by using its levers sequentially to eventually generate greater speed.
    In the twilight of my career, I now get tremendous satisfaction in helping to perfect the techniques of those likely to become our future Olympians. With a squad that has
several 15-year-old males who can approach 60 meters, several young ladies, mainly foreigners, who can cast the spear regularly over 45 me­ters, and adult men and women who can all make 70 meters and 50 meters respectively, the future indeed looks rosy. Sadly, it is both energy- and time-consuming as every technical session needs to last around two hours. Add to this a specifically designated core strength session and a javelin-specific strength ses­sion, then there is little time left in a week for the other events where I still have a strong interest.