Throwing Sports - Javelin, Discus, Hammer, and Shot Put

Throwing Sports - Javelin, Discus, Hammer, and Shot Put

Throwing Sports - Javelin, Discus, Hammer, and Shot Put
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	5.85

Vocabulary

challenging words:

cavemen, fiberglass, momentum, coordination, spears, archaeologists, rotate, launching, core, lighter, tips, certain, goal, lead, perhaps, bronze

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Throwing Sports - Javelin, Discus, Hammer, and Shot Put
By Colleen Messina

¹     Cavemen liked to throw sticks. Toddlers like to throw stones. It seems as though everyone likes to throw something! Many sports came from people who had so much fun throwing sticks and stones. Javelin throwing, discus throwing, hammer throwing, and the shot put are just a few of the throwing sports that are popular today.

²     Javelin throwing goes back to the spear throwing of prehistoric times. Archaeologists found 400,000-year-old spears in Germany. Later, the javelin was used as a weapon in ancient Greece and Rome. Roman soldiers used a heavy javelin that was made with iron. The ancient Greeks had javelin throwing at their Olympic games, and the tradition continues today. The javelin has been an Olympic sport since 1908. Javelins were used by Zulu warriors in Africa as weapons. The javelin has also been used extensively for hunting in many cultures.

³     A modern javelin is made out of fiberglass or aluminum alloys. They often have steel tips. The competitors take turns trying to throw the farthest distance, which is measured in centimeters. The thrower runs down a track before throwing his javelin. The javelin in flight can reach speeds of up to 70 mph.

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