The club throw is an athletic throwing event where the objective is to throw a wooden club. The event is one of the four throwing events, along with discus, javelin and shot put of the Summer Paralympics. It is the Paralympic equivalent of the hammer throw. The club throw was introduced for both men and women at the first 1960 Summer Paralympic Games. It was dropped from the women's programme from the 1992 Paralympics in Barcelona but was reinstated for London 2012.
Sport rules
Like other throwing events, the competition is decided by who can throw the club the farthest, though when the event is contested by athletes of different disability classifications, such as the Paralympics, the result is decided by a points score using the Raza Points System which considers athletes' relative levels of disability. The club for men and women weighs a minimum of 397 grams (14.0 oz) and is normally made from wood with a metal base. The athlete sits in a frame in a throwing area which is within a marked circle between 2.135 and 2.50 metres (7 ft 0 in and 8 ft 2 in) in diameter. The frame is common for each competitor and is rigid. The sport is contested at the Paralympics by athletes in the F31, F32 and F51 classes (individuals with the most significant impairment in hand function).
Records
As of 2017 the world record for the men's club in the 32 class is held by Maciej Sochal, who threw 37.19 metres (122 ft 0 in) at the 2016 IPC Athletics European Championships. The men's record in the 51 class is held by Željko Dimitrijević, who recorded a distance of 31.99 metres (104 ft 11 in) at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships.
As of 2017 the world record for the women's club in the 32 class is held by Maroua Ibrahmi, who threw 26.93 metres (88 ft 4 in) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics. The women's record in the 51 class is held by America's Rachael Morrison, who recorded a distance of 23.82 metres (78 ft 2 in) in Claremont, CA on 8 April 2017.
Paralympics
Men
| Games | Location | Open to | Gold | Class | Distance (points) |
Silver | Class | Distance (points) |
Bronze | Class | Distance (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | New York, United States | 1A |
 Bart Dodson (USA)
|
1A | 23.54 |
 Franicsco de las Fuentes (MEX)
|
1A | 21.44 |
S. Wilkins (USA)
|
1A | 21.12 |
| 1988 | Seoul, South Korea | 1A |
 Edund Weber (FRG)
|
1A | 23.44 |
 Jose Danile Haylan (ARG)
|
1A | 18.28 |
 Paolo D'Agostini (ITA)
|
1A | 17.50 |
| 1992 | Barcelona, Spain | C6 |
 Dae Kwan Kim (KOR)
|
C6 | 51.58 WR |
 Keith Gardner (GBR)
|
C6 | 43.78 |
 S. Da Costa Neto (BRA)
|
C6 | 43.50 |
| 1996 | Atlanta, United States | F50 |
Stephen Miller (GBR)
|
F50 | 25.84 WR |
James Richardson (GBR)
|
F50 | 22.75 |
Aaron Little (USA)
|
F50 | 20.65 |
| 2000 | Sydney, Australia | F51 |
Stephen Miller (GBR)
|
F51 | 27.74 |
 Takefumi Anryo (JPN)
|
F51 | 26.88 |
 Ahmed Kamal (BRN)
|
F51 | 26.08 |
| 2004 | Athens, Greece | F32/F51 |
Stephen Miller (GBR)
|
F32 | 33.53 (1133) |
 Radim Beles (CZE)
|
F51 | 25.44 (993) |
 Karim Betina (ALG)
|
F32 | 29.17 (986) |
| 2008 | Beijing, China | F32/F51 |
 Mourad Idoudi (TUN)
|
F32 | 35.77 (1125) WR |
Stephen Miller (GBR)
|
F32 | 34.37 (1081) |
Jan Vanek (CZE)
|
F51 | 25.29 (1063) |
| 2012 | London Olympic Stadium | F31/32/51 |
 Željko Dimitrijević (SRB)
|
F51 | 26.88 (1010) |
Radim Běleš (CZE)
|
F51 | 26.67 (1004) |
Lahouari Bahlaz (ALG)
|
F32 | 36.31 (1003) |
| 2016 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | F32 |
 Maciej Sochal (POL)
|
F32 | 33.91 |
 Athanasios Konstantinidis (GRE)
|
F32 | 33.69 |
Stephen Miller (GBR)
|
F32 | 31.93 |
| F51 |
Zeljko Dimitrijevic (SRB)
|
F51 | 29.96 WR |
Milos Mitic (SRB)
|
F51 | 26.84 |
 Marián Kuřeja (SVK)
|
F51 | 26.82 |
Women
| Games | Location | Open to | Gold | Class | Distance (points) | Silver | Class | Distance (points) | Bronze | Class | Distance (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Rome, Italy | A |
Maria Scutti (ITA)
|
A | 19.10 |
Anna Maria Galimberti (ITA)
|
A | 17.82 |
 Manette Berger-Waldenegg (AUT)
|
A | 17.32 |
| B |
Maria Scutti (ITA)
|
B | 20.07 |
 Marlene Muhlendyck (FRG)
|
B | 19.42 |
Anna Maria Galimberti (ITA)
|
B | 19.11 | ||
| C |
Zander (FRG)
|
C | 26.62 |
 Daphne Ceeney (AUS)
|
C | 21.11 |
Maria Scutti (ITA)
|
C | 20.21 | ||
| 2012 | London, United Kingdom | F31/32/51 |
Maroua Ibrahmi (TUN)
|
F32 | 23.43 WR |
Mounia Gasmi (ALG)
|
F32 | 22.51 |
Gemma Prescott (GBR)
|
F32 | 20.50 |
| 2016 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | F31/32 |
Maroua Ibrahmi (TUN)
|
F32 | 26.93 WR |
Mounia Gasmi (ALG)
|
F32 | 25.41 |
Gemma Prescott (GBR)
|
F32 | 19.77 |
| 2016 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | F51 |
Joanna Butterfield (GBR)
|
F51 | 22.81 WR |
 Zoia Ovsii (UKR)
|
F51 | 22.21 |
Cassie Mitchell (USA)
|
F51 | 21.84 |