Javelin Throw, Both Hands, Men

This was the only time this event was held at the Olympics. There is no known world record for the event at the time of the 1912 Olympics. In the scheduled final, the three qualifiers were to have had three further throws with each hand, with the best of each hand being totalled. When all three finalists were from Finland, they elected not to contest a final. The officials agreed with this decision and allowed the results of the qualifying round to count as the final results. Julius Saaristo’s winning right-handed throw of 61.00 broke the Olympic record set by Eric Lemming (60.64) in winning the single-arm javelin throw three days earlier. Lemming, who had won the one-handed competition, and the Olympic gold medal in 1906 and 1908, finished only fourth. He was second to Saaristo with the right hand, but threw very poorly with his left hand, placing only 9th of the 14 competitors with that hand.