Yuriy Sedykh’s Winds and Entry

Yuriy Sedykh is the current men’s hammer throw world record holder with a throw of 86.74 meters. Sedykh begins his throw at the rim in the back of the circle with his two feet a little more than shoulder width apart. The hammer is positioned on the circle, behind and slightly to our left of his right foot. All references to Sedykh’s body positions, countering left /right or moving up/down, or the position of the hammer, will be referenced to the fixed red horizontal line on each image or to the intersection of the red line and the flagpole to the right of sedykh’s left shoulder (focal point).
Sedykh pulls the hammer forward and moves back to the right toward the focal point.
As Sedykh’s hands reach zero degrees, they are vertical to the ground and his shoulder axis is squared away to the front and parallel to his hip axis, his arms are relaxed and there is no attempt to force them straight.
Sedykh fully erect and centered within his throwing system and parallel to the flagpole. As his hands pass zero degrees, he rolls his right hand over his left, causing his left shoulder to dip slightly and his arms to bend as he begins the first wind around his left leg. His right foot is posted straight, not turned out.
Sedykh remains erect and centered. His hands closely clear the top of his head, and in both winds Sedykh deliberately keeps his right forearm parallel with the ground.There is no body sway as his right shoulder moves back. Note how far the hammer is to the right of the flagpole for later comparison with the same position of his second wind shown below.
His hands pass close to the side of his face and behind his head. His right shoulder and elbow are way back. His eyes are turned to the right, and his bodyweight has shifted more to the right foot, but Sedykh remains centered with minimal sway to the right.
As the hammer descends, Sedykh’s left upper arm brushes closely to his chest. The right shoulder and elbow are back as he moves a little to the left of the focal point. His right foot is posted facing straight. Although his right shoulder and shoulder axis are turned back to the right, his hip axis remains squared to the front. There is no swaying or dropping of his body
As the hammer descends in wind one, Sedykh moves back toward the focal point. His head is erect. He is not looking down at the hammer. Both arms are straight before the hammer reaches zero degrees. The shoulders are turned slightly to the right, and the low point of the hammer is about 6 to 8 inches above the ground.
The hammer is nearly at zero degrees, and the arms are straight The shoulders are squared across the front, and Sedykh’s hands are vertical to the ground.
As the hammer reaches zero degrees, the right hand begins to turn over the left hand, lowering the left shoulder.
Sedykh’s head is turned slightly to the right. His right hand is rolling over the left, lowering his left shoulder more and bringing the right shoulder slightly forward a little ahead of the left shoulder. The right foot is blocking the countering of the hips as the hammer orbits out and around the left leg. His body remains centered in his throwing system.
With his left shoulder dropped, Sedykh’s hands traverse close to the top of his head, but well out to our right of his head, placing the orbit of the hammer well around the left leg. Sedykh begins countering to the left of the focal point. Note the position of the hammer in relation to the flagpole. It has been let out more to the left.
Sedykh’s right foot and leg are blocking to prevent too much sway away from his center and the focal point and to keep his hip axis squared to the front. His right shoulder and shoulder axis have rotated well back.
As the hammer descends, Sedykh drops to bent legs, as is evident from his relation to the fixed horizontal line, in order to accelerate the downward movement of the hammer. His right shoulder is back.
As the hammer is pushed/stroked toward zero degrees and the shoulders begin to square to the front, Sedykh straightens both arms and drops even more to bent legs. He is also giving forward from the small of his back with long extended arms and relaxed shoulders. Throughout both winds his head remains erect. His eyes and chin are not lowered to look at the hammer as it passes.
Sedykh is bending forward from his lower- back as the hammer reaches zero degrees. The low point of the hammer is now approximately at zero degrees and about a foot above the ground. His hands are slightly below his waist. Both his arms are fully straight and his shoulders are concave. His head is erect. Both feet will begin rotating as he pushes/strokes his hands out and to the left into the entry, maintaining the forward bend in order to achieve the wide left sweep. He will remain bent forward to all away around to the touchdown of his right foot.