The Big Throw

Stuart Farquhar during the qualifying rounds for the men's javelin at the Olympic Stadium, Athens 2004.
Credit: Photosport.

"I think there will be some massive throws," forecasts eight-time New Zealand javelin champion Stuart Farquhar. "The Beijing stadium is nice. The conditions will suitable for big throwing. Any of the top ten guys could throw 90 metres - all of them are capable of huge one off throws," he says.

Farquhar's personal best is currently a fair way off that mark, 83.23m, which was the January 2008 throw that earned him his second Olympic Games berth. Looked at realistically, that wouldn't be enough to spear a medal.

But Farquhar can rise to the big occasion and he's capable of going further. His PB is edging up steadily. He only nailed 80m in 2006.

"I always seem to lift myself in big events," he says. "The crowd really helps me". He laughs that it could be a result of "needing to prove myself or being a bit of a show-off!" Then, more seriously: "You get all nervous and anxious which seems to give you more energy".

"It's all about feeling," the 26-year-old says of the moment of physical alchemy, when a thrower times his technique perfectly and the javelin will soar out, sometimes metres further than before. "You've got to be relaxed and at the right time, explode with power. You get the right combination of movement and – bang! – the big throw can come out of nowhere. A lot of competitions are won like that. You think, where did that come from?"

Farquhar's lead-in to the Games is carefully scheduled to bring the mental focus to a peak, a lesson he's learned from Athens and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne (where he placed seventh). The javelin's one of the last events on the track and field programme, held in the final three days of the Games. "At Athens I had the opening ceremony and then two weeks in the village before I actually competed," he says.

That's clearly not ideal. So come the Beijing Games opening ceremony, Farquhar will still be on the other side of the world, in Brisbane. He's been based in Australia since early July, supported by Debbie Strange (who has coached him since he was 15).

Farquhar only heads to Hong Kong on 12 August, "more for a climate change than anything," then into the Games village on the 17th – when plenty of athletes will have already finished their events. "I'm making a progression to Beijing. I don't want to go too hard, too soon," is how he summarises the final two months of build-up and taper.

He went to – and liked - the "Birds Nest Stadium" in May 2008, when he went to the Good Luck Games with Valerie Vili and manager Raylene Bates. "When I was there was a bit of a breeze but nothing to affect the javelin too much". He threw 79m to win the Good Luck Games event, and followed that with 80m in a Taiwanese competition. "It was a good two week campaign. I travelled well, I competed well," he reflects.

His first goal for the heat of the Olympics is to make the final, the top 12, after which – as the cliché goes - anything is possible. At the Athens Games, he threw 74.63m and was well off qualifying. But at last year's Athletics World Championships – his first worlds - he cracked out 78.08m and only narrowly missed the final cut.

"I am still improving. I am training a lot harder. You learn to master the technique, Farquhar says. "Technique is so important. If the right movements are not happening with the right timing you can't apply the force. To get the javelin out there you have to be fast in the feet. The upper and lower body need to be timed together properly".

"It's like a rubber band: you get speed in your legs to put tension in the body to release through your arms. It's a full body movement," he explains. And perhaps more to the point: "A lot of throwers don't get their biggest throws till late in their career. They master the movement".

He is, remember, still only 26.

As for the javelin itself, it's rather more high-tech than it might appear. Competitors at Beijing will all use supplied spears, choosing from a range of brands and types, about 12 in all. Javelins are between 2.6 – 2.7m long and 800g in weight, and must comply with many other measures, such as the centre of gravity being at a certain point.

Materials vary: steel, carbon fibre or aluminium. Carbon is stiffer and has a less lateral movement – it doesn't wobble in the air like the flimsier steel or aluminium. But countering that, the stiffness of carbon is harsh on the elbow and shoulder. Farquhar prefers a mid-point: aluminium with a carbon coating.

Farquhar lives in Hamilton with wife Leone and young son Tyler, competing in New Zealand events for the Hamilton City Hawks. He trains at Porritt Stadium and Wintec, the Waikato Institute of Technology, mixing that with working part-time, being a stay-at-home dad and crèche drop-offs.

Unusually for a Games athlete, he's just off qualifying for a Performance Enhancement Grant (PEG). He works 15 hours a week in a hotel. He's also helped with a clothing sponsorship from Asics, an important boost when javelin throwing boots cost $300 and take a pounding.

Updated | 31 Oct 2008.

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