A kinematic study of center of mass motions in the hammer throw

Eight highly-skilled hammer throwers were studied using film analysis procedures. The location and velocity of the center of mass (c.m.) of each thrower, hammer and thrower-hammer system were calculated. The vertical component of motion of all three c.m.s followed cyclic patterns with one fluctuation per turn. The fluctuation of the c.m. of the thrower was ahead of that of the hammer by approximately a third of a cycle, and this made the periods of upward vertical acceleration of the system c.m. coincide approximately with the double-support phases. In the horizontal direction, the c.m.s of the thrower and of the hammer followed roughly trochoid patterns as a result of the combination of rotation with forward displacement across the throwing circle. Their rotations were out of synchrony by approximate synchrony with the hammer, or an essentially straight trajectory. The results of this study suggest that the investigation of the hammer throw might be facilitated by the use of a quasi-inertial non-rotating reference frame that follows the general motion of the system c.m. while ignoring its fluctuations within each turn.