Penn Relays | Track events don't sweep the Field

The Penn relays are four days of track and field mayhem, and the main draws are undoubtedly the sprinting events at the high school, college and professional levels. But on Thursday and Friday especially, the casual Relays spectator can catch a host of lesser-known events, especially three field competitions.

Hammer throw

The original version of this event was probably the coolest - a competitor stood in a small circular pit and heaved a sledge hammer as far as he could. Some regional competitions in Scotland use only a slight modification, using a weighted ball at the end of a long cane.

The modern version is simply a ball - 16 pounds for the men, just over eight for the women - attached to a flexible metal wire.

There are college men's and women's hammer throws on both Thursday and Saturday, and Olympic Development throws on Saturday for both men and women; hammer throw only became a women's Olympic sport in 2000.

Names to watch Men: Rabun Fox (Men's defending champ, LSU); Walter Henning (LSU); Alex Pessala (Princeton); Craig Pearce (Princeton); Seid Mujanovic (Manhattan). Women: Kimery Hern (Georgia Tech); Nikola Lomnicka (Clemson); Amanda Cole (Temple).

Javelin

The javelin is both a stand-alone event for high school and college athletes and a part of the men's decathalon and women's heptathalon events.

While other field events allow for "non-orthodox" techniques, the International Association of Athletics Federations prescribes how to throw a javelin, which is between 2.6 and 2.7 meters in length and 800 grams for men and 2.2-2.3 meters and 600 grams for women.

Athletes must throw the javelin overhand, never at a side-arm or submarine-style angle like the discus. They are also prohibited from turning around and facing away from the target. There are no spins, just a 30-meter runway that the athlete can only leave after the javelin lands. And it must land within a wedge of land 29 degrees wide, extending out from the end of the runway; anything else results in disqualification.

Names to watch Men: John Austin (Duke); Tanner Evak (Penn State); Brandon Heroux (William & Mary). Women: Karlee McQuillen (Penn State); Evelien Dekkers (Florida); Amanda Martin (Connecticut); Ana Ruzevic (Tulane).

Discus

The discus, a sport with Scandinavian roots, has evolved from stone and bronze throwing disks to a standard disk of 4.4 pounds for men and 2.2 for women.

Throwers once stood still and moved only their arms; but in the 1920s the standard practice of turning around, swinging the throwing arm far behind one's back, and skipping just before the release was introduced.

Brute force is indeed important in discus, but aerodynamics are the chief concern. Because of the lift generated by the discus's shape, similar to that of an airplane wing, an athlete can actually achieve greater distances throwing into a light headwind.

Names to watch Men: Steve Marcelle (Georgia Tech); Yemi Ayeni (Virginia); Tommy Killen (TCU). Women: Billie-Jo Grant (Virginia); Emma Schmelzer (Penn State); Maria Matos (Cornell).

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