If running can claim to be the most primitively important element of those which make up what we now describe as athletics - quick getaways on foot were more than desirable for our forbears in the days of rampaging woolly mammoths - then the javelin, the implement of hunting and war, takes the silver medal position. There is a deep and instinctive appeal to this latter-day Olympic sport.

Back in the days of the ancient Greece Olympics, javelin throwers had to deal with a technical element that is no longer a part of the event - a leather thong, in the form of a loop, attached to the implement at whatever point the thrower found most advantageous. This loop enabled a better grip and helped produce extra power in the launch. It could also impart a spin to the javelin which stabilised and lengthened its flight.

As well as the throw for distance, which closely resembles the competitions of today, the ancient Greeks also liked to stage a trickier variant - that is, throwing the javelin at a target. From the back of a horse. A galloping horse.

Javelin throwers at the ancient Olympics had leather thongs on the spear to help their throw. But then they sometimes had to throw from the back of a horse...

At this month's IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha, Norway's double Olympic javelin champion Andreas Thorkildsen paid unwitting tribute to this tradition as he was pictured in pre-event publicity event in traditional Arab dress and brandishing his javelin on top of an Arab steed.

As he explained afterwards, there was an element of chance about this image, as he had originally been offered the opportunity to have his photograph taken on a camel, an assignment which would also have required travelling a distance of around 50 miles (not on the camel, but in the car taking him to the camel, just to be clear).

Anyway, the Norwegian had opted for the four-legged beasts without the hump, and he looked more than comfortable in the pictures displayed ahead of the main event. But then he didn't have to gallop, or aim his javelin at at anything other than the photographer in front of him.

Thorkildsen endured a horrible year in 2012 as nagging injuries undermined his effort to earn a third consecutive Olympic title in London - with gold going to the unheralded world junior champion from Trinidad and Tobago, Keshorn Walcott.


The Norwegian is clearly on a mission to return to the top of his event, and as part of his preparations for the Doha event - the first in this year's IAAF Diamond League series - he spent time - and indeed around $20,000 (£13,000/€15,500) of his own money - establishing a training camp for himself in Qatar, where he took full advantage of the dazingly-vast indoor facility of the Aspire Dome and what he described as perfect throwing conditions in the warmth of the early evening (as opposed to the oven-heat of midday).

It is a truism that the more one learns about anything, the more interesting it becomes. But it is also true that the more one learns about anything, the more complex it becomes.

Talking to Thorkildsen about his event - one which patently enthrals him - it was fascinating to hear him describe how the dynamic has changed since the international authorities fundamentally altered the balance of the javelin in order to check the ever-increasing distances being achieved, distances which were threatening to see spectators at the far end of the stadium at risk of impalement in the near future.

As he explained, the key shift brought about by the alterations made by the IAAF in 1986 and again in 1991 was that throwers were better favoured by a following wind rather than a headwind.

Double Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen throwing at this month's IAAF Doha Diamond League event

Thorkildsen held his hand over the table as he illustrated the point (as it were). His fingers tilted up as he showed how, pre-change, a headwind would help to hold up the tip of the javelin, lengthening its flight before it dipped down.

Now the Norwegian had his hand on the table to illustrate the thrower, with his other hand indicating the direction of following winds. But it is not just any old following wind which best speeds the spear these days. As his gestures make clear, throwers best benefit from a following wind that comes in on their throwing side.

Thus Germany's world champion, Matthias de Zordo, gets an extra boost as a left-handed thrower if the prevailing wind is streaming in from behind him but moving left to right. Such conditions tend to steer his throws into the vector, controlling his occasional tendency to throw wide on the left.

Conversely, Thorkildsen and most of his fellow throwers are happiest when a slight right to left tailwind comes in, correcting any tendency they might have to miss the vector on the right side, and assisting their attempts in flight.

There are so many elements to this hugely technical track-and-field event, but part of its fascination derives from this random, natural factor which can so profoundly alter the destiny of those who have sought to micro-manage their training and performance down to the last stretching exercise and nutritional supplement. You can train in the highest of high-tech environments, as Thorkildsen and many of his rivals do, but in the end, as a javelin thrower, you are subject to the winds of chance.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, covered the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as chief feature writer for insidethegames, having covered the previous five summer Games, and four winter Games, for The Independent. He has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, The Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. To follow him on Twitter click here.