Anita Włodarczyk (Polish pronunciation:[aˈɲita vwɔˈdart͡ʂɨk]; born 8 August 1985) is aPolishhammer thrower. She is the2012,2016 and2020Olympic champion, and the first woman in history to throw the hammer over 80 m; she currently holds the women's world record of 82.98 m. She is considered the greatest female hammer thrower of all time.[2][3]
She was voted thePolish Sports Personality of the Year in 2016 and received the Commander's Cross with Star of theOrder of Polonia Restituta in 2021 for her outstanding achievements in sport.[4][5]
Włodarczyk won her first national U23 championships in 2007, and went on to compete in the2007 European Athletics U23 Championships, although she did not progress beyond the qualifying round. She finished fourth in thehammer throw competition at the2008 Olympic Games.
Włodarczyk qualified for the2008 World Athletics Final and won a bronze medal. The following year, she took part in the2009 European Team Championships, winning her first gold medal at a major international competition.
Włodarczyk achieved a personal best throw of 76.20 metres (250.0 ft), achieved on 30 May 2009 inBiała Podlaska, beating her previous record by 81 cm and improve 76.59 m inGolden Spike Ostrava. Prior to the2009 World Championships in Athletics, she produced anational record-breaking performance inCottbus, winning the competition with a world-leading 77.20-metre (253.3 ft) throw. This was fourth longest throw by a woman inhammer throw.
On 22 August 2009, during theWorld Championships in Athletics inBerlin, Germany, Włodarczyk set a world record with a throw of 77.96 metres (255 ft 9 in).[6] Her season ended prematurely when she twisted her left ankle during her celebration.[7] Returning to competition at theMeeting Grand Prix IAAF de Dakar in April 2010, she easily won her event with a throw of 75.13 m.[8] She then proceeded to break her existing world record with a 78.30-metre (256.9 ft) hammer throw at the Enea Cup inBydgoszcz on 6 June 2010.[9] She won the bronze at the2010 European Athletics Championships and was ranked second overall for the season in theIAAF Hammer Throw Challenge, finishing behindBetty Heidler.[10] She finished outside of the medals at the2011 World Championships in Athletics, coming fifth overall.
In 2012, Włodarczyk finished third at theOstrava Golden Spike and was the runner-up at thePrefontaine Classic.[11] At the2012 Summer Olympics, she won the silver medal with a throw of 77.60 m.[12] On 11 October 2016, she was retroactively awarded gold after Russia'sTatyana Lysenko was stripped of the medal after testing positive in reanalysis of her stored doping samples.[13][14][15]
In 2014, Włodarczyk won theEuropean Championship with a throw of 78.76, which was a championship and national record.[16]
On 1 August 2015 Włodarczyk set a new world record with a throw of 81.08 metres (266.0 ft) and became the first woman to throw the hammer over 80 metres (260 ft).[17] She went on to win the gold medal at theWorld Championships, once again throwing over 80 metres (260 ft).
On 15 August 2016 Włodarczyk won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rio, setting a new world record with a throw of 82.29 metres (270.0 ft).[18] On 28 August 2016, she threw 82.98 metres (272.2 ft), setting a new world record just two weeks after the Olympics at the EAA 7thKamila Skolimowska Memorial in Warsaw. In competition, Włodarczyk uses some of the equipment that belonged to the late Skolimowska, as a tribute to her fellow hammer thrower.[19]
In 2014, 2016 and 2017 she was givenTrack & Field News Athlete of the Year award.
In 2017, she receivedPolish Sportspersonality of the Year Award for her sports achievements in the previous year. She finished the year with a 42 contests winning streak which began in July 2014.[20]
As of 2020[update], she holds all of the top 15 women's hammer throw results and 27 out of the top 30.[21]
At the2020 Summer Olympics, she won thehammer throw event with a throw of 78.48 m. Włodarczyk is the only woman to ever win this event three times in a row (in themen's competition, onlyJohn Flanagan did so, winning the event at the1900,1904 and1908 Summer Olympics). She is also the first woman to win a specific individual athletics event three times in a row at the Olympic Games. With three Olympic gold medals, she ranks third in the all-timemedal table among Polish athletes who competed at the Summer Olympics, behind racewalkerRobert Korzeniowski and sprinterIrena Szewińska.
Some of the selected awards and honours she received for her sports achievements include:
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | European U23 Championships | Debrecen, Hungary | 9th | 63.74 m |
| 2008 | European Winter Throwing Cup | Split, Croatia | 1st | 71.84 m |
| Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 4th | 71.56 m | |
| World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 3rd | 70.97 m | |
| 2009 | European Team Championships | Leiria, Portugal | 1st | 75.23 m |
| World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 1st | 77.96 m  | |
| 2010 | European Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 3rd | 73.56 m |
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 5th | 73.56 m |
| 2012 | European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 1st | 74.29 m |
| Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 1st | 77.60 m | |
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 1st | 78.46 m |
| Jeux de la Francophonie | Nice, France | 1st | 75.62 m | |
| 2014 | European Championships | Zürich, Switzerland | 1st | 78.76 m |
| Continental Cup | Marrakesh, Morocco | 1st | 75.21 m | |
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 1st | 80.85 m |
| 2016 | European Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 1st | 78.14 m |
| Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1st | 82.29 mOR | |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 1st | 77.90 m |
| 2018 | Athletics World Cup | London, United Kingdom | 1st | 78.74 m |
| European Championships | Berlin, Germany | 1st | 78.94 m | |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 1st | 78.48 m |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 13th (q) | 71.17 m |
| 2024 | European Championships | Rome, Italy | 2nd | 72.92 m |
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 4th | 74.23 m |
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tatyana Lysenko Betty Heidler | Women's Hammer World Record Holder 22 August 2009 – 21 May 2011 31 August 2014 – | Succeeded by Betty Heidler Incumbent |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | Women'sTrack & Field Athlete of the Year 2014 2016, 2017 | Succeeded by |
|
European Athletics Championships champions in women'shammer throw | |
|---|---|
|
| Sportspersonality of The Year |
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|---|---|
| Team of The Year |
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| Coach of The Year |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
