Fifty years of legendary throwing in Halle

According to local legend, throwing implements at the Brandberge sports grounds in Halle fly farther there than anywhere else.

While the stats may not fully corroborate that claim, one thing is undeniable: the Hallesche Werfertage has attracted hundreds of the world’s leading throwers over the past five decades and punches well above its weight on the international calendar.

The Werfertage (literally translated as ‘Throwing Days’) is this year celebrating its 50th anniversary. Dozens of world and Olympic champions in the shot put, discus, javelin and hammer have competed in Halle during that time, giving it worldwide recognition in the athletics world and a cult following among the throwing community.

“Halle is outstanding, and unique in the throwing scene worldwide,” says 1992 Olympic javelin champion Silke Renk. Not only was she a regular competitor at the Werfertage; Halle is where Renk trained and matured into a world-class athlete.

“The Halle Werfertage is the Götzis of throwing,” says Clemens Prokop, former President of the German Athletics Federation (DLV). “In terms of quality, tradition and atmosphere, it is one of the cult events of athletics. I don't know of any event in the world that is as high-calibre as Halle.”

The meeting started out as a one-day competition in 1973 and was mainly used as an early season assessment for German throwers. The athletes responded well to the venue, with the conditions often proving conducive for throwing far, and it soon started to build a reputation as something of a throws Mecca.

Following the reunification of Germany in the late 1980s and early 1990s, athletes from all over the country travelled to Halle for the Werfertage, and it wasn’t long before athletes from other nations started flocking there too.

“The Hallesche Werfertage is one of the few major sporting events in East Germany that has been attracting throwers from all over the world for 50 years without interruption, despite the political change in 1989,” says Ingrid Häussler, President of the Halle Athletics Friends and former Lord Mayor of Halle.

The likes of former world discus record-holder Jürgen Schult, shot putter Astrid Kumbernuss, discus thrower Ilke Wyludda, former world javelin record-holder Petra Felke, five-time world discus champion Lars Riedel and three-time world discus champion Franka Dietzsch were among the stand-out performers during the early decades of the meeting.

In more recent times, the roll of honour has included national stars such as Robert Harting, Thomas Röhler and Yemisi Ogunleye, as well as international headliners like Gong Lijiao, Daniel Stahl and Ethan Katzberg.

“The atmosphere here is unique,” said javelin world record-holder Jan Zelezny, whose meeting record of 87.92m, set in 2003, was finally broken last year by Max Dehning (90.20m). “I’ve never experienced a meeting for throwers like this anywhere else.”

Part of what makes the Hallesche Werfertage unique is the close proximity of spectators to the throwing areas, as well as the flexibility of the venue. Organisers will decide exactly which throwing circles to use based on the wind conditions on the day of the meeting, giving the athletes the best possible chance of throwing far.

Those factors no doubt contributed to Betty Heidler’s world hammer record at the 2011 edition. The 2007 world champion, and former arch rival to hammer legend Anita Wlodarczyk – herself a regular competitor in Halle – opened her account that day with a PB of 77.19m, but was nowhere near finished.

In the third round, she sent her hammer flying out to 79.42m, adding more than a metre to the world record. It stood as a world record for three years, and makes Heidler the only woman to punctuate Wlodarczyk’s run of six world records between 2009 and 2016.

“We are highly regarded internationally,” says meeting director Falk Ritschel, who is continuing something of a family tradition with this meeting. His father, Rainer, was meeting director from 1990 up until 2003. Heidi Eckert then took the reins up until 2014, after which Falk Ritschel took charge. Ritschel’s mother, Maria, former national javelin coach, is also still involved in the running of the competition.

To mark this year’s milestone, the organisers are moving the shot put contests to one of Germany's largest marketplaces in Halle’s city centre, held on Friday (23). Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye takes on two-time world champion Chase Jackson in the women’s event, while two-time world champion Joe Kovacs headlines the men’s field. The celebrations will also be graced by former global champions Heidler, Harting and Christina Obergfoll in what will no doubt be another unforgettable weekend in Halle.

Ewald Walker for World Athletics

• The past five decades of the meeting have been chronicled in a publication called ’50 Jahre Werfertage in Halle’ (Fifty years of throwing days in Halle).