| | Event type

Javelin Throw, Women

Date	19 – 21 August 2008
Status	Olympic
Location	Beijing Guojia Tiyuchang, Beijing Aolinpike Gongyuan, Beijing
Participants	54 from 40 countries

Barbora Špotáková (CZE) came in as the 2007 World Champion and with the best record of the year, and then led the qualifying with 67.69 (222-5). In the final Mariya Abakumova (RUS) opened with 69.32 (227-5), a national record and PR which made her the fourth-longest thrower ever. Špotáková answered with 69.22 (227-11), also a PR and national record, but settled into second place and they held those positions thru the first three rounds. In round four Abakumova hammered the spear out to 70.78 (232-3), making her the second-longest performer in history. But Špotáková came thru in the final round with 71.42 (234-4), less than a foot short of the world record, held by Cuba’s Osleidys Menéndez, who placed fifth with only one valid throw. The bronze medal went to Germany’s Christina Obergföll, silver medalist at the 2007 Worlds, who had opened with 66.13 (216-11) but then struggled with four fouls.

That was how the event and the results seemed to have ended. In 2015, however, the IOC began re-testing samples from the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, using newer, more advanced testing techniques, in an effort to find those who had used performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), but in whom it could not be detected at the time of those Olympics. This was one of the many events affected.

In September 2016 Mariya Abakumova (RUS) had a positive re-test for turinabol (dehydrochloromethyltestosterone) and was tentatively disqualified. However, she appealed this to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but the appeal was rejected by the CAS in July 2018.

Pos	Nr	Athlete	NOC	Qualifying	Final
1	1533	Barbora Špotáková	CZE	67.69 (1)	71.42 (1)	Gold
2	1912	Christina Obergföll	GER	67.52 (2)	66.13 (2)	Silver
3	1833	Goldie Sayers	GBR	62.99 (4)	65.75 (3)	Bronze
4	1890	Steffi Nerius	GER	63.94 (3)	65.29 (4)
5	1468	Osleidys Menéndez	CUB	60.51 (10)	63.35 (5)
6	2598	Barbara Madejczyk	POL	62.81 (5)	62.02 (6)
7	1922	Katharina Molitor	GER	60.92 (8)	59.64 (7)
8	1604	Mercedes Chilla	ESP	61.81 (6)	58.13 (8)
9	1395	Zhang Li	CHN	61.77 (7)	56.14 (9)
10	2335	Sinta Ozoliņa	LAT	60.13 (11)	53.38 (10)
11	2706	Felicia Țilea-Moldovan	ROU	60.81 (9)	53.04 (11)
12 r1/2	2729	Justine Robbeson	RSA	59.63 (12)	–
13 r1/2	2604	Urszula Piwnicka	POL	59.28 (13)	–
14 r1/2	1934	Savva Lika	GRE	59.11 (14)	–
15 r1/2	3072	Vira Rebryk	UKR	59.05 (15)	–
16 r1/2	1696	Mikaela Ingberg	FIN	58.82 (16)	–
17 r1/2	1369	Chang Chunfeng	CHN	58.42 (17)	–
18 r1/2	1453	Yanet Cruz	CUB	58.06 (18)	–
19 r1/2	1093	Laverne Eve	BAH	57.36 (19)	–
20 r1/2	1518	Jarmila Klimešová	CZE	57.25 (20)	–
21 r1/2	2012	Nikolett Szabó	HUN	57.15 (21)	–
22 r1/2	1167	Natallia Shymchuk	BLR	57.11 (22)	–
23 r1/2	2658	Sílvia Cruz	POR	57.06 (23)	–
24 r1/2	3104	Olha Ivankova	UKR	57.05 (24)	–
25 r1/2	1634	Moonika Aava	EST	56.94 (25)	–
26 r1/2	1242	Alessandra Resende	BRA	56.53 (26)	–
27 r1/2	2990	Buoban Pamang	THA	56.35 (27)	–
28 r1/2	2865	Lindy Agricole	SEY	56.32 (28)	–
29 r1/2	2352	Erma-Gene Evans	LCA	56.27 (29)	–
30 r1/2	1166	Maryna Novik	BLR	56.10 (30)	–
31 r1/2	2367	Inga Stasiulionytė	LTU	55.66 (31)	–
32 r1/2	3330	Sunette Viljoen	RSA	55.58 (32)	–
33 r1/2	2168	Olivia McKoy	JAM	55.51 (33)	–
34 r1/2	3103	Tetiana Liakhovych	UKR	55.50 (34)	–
35 r1/2	3299	Anastasiya Svechnikova	UZB	55.31 (35)	–
36 r1/2	2882	Martinka Ratej	SLO	55.30 (36)	–
37 r1/2	3192	Kim Kreiner	USA	55.13 (37)	–
38 r1/2	1416	Zuleima Araméndiz	COL	54.71 (38)	–
39 r1/2	2711	Monica Stoian	ROU	54.56 (39)	–
40 r1/2	3214	Kara Patterson	USA	54.39 (40)	–
41 r1/2	1368	Song Dan	CHN	54.32 (41)	–
42 r1/2	2907	Nadeeka Lakmali	SRI	54.28 (42)	–
43 r1/2	1538	Christina Scherwin	DEN	53.95 (43)	–
44 r1/2	1506	Alexandra Tsisiou	CYP	53.24 (44)	–
45 r1/2	2307	Kim Gyeong-Ae	KOR	53.13 (45)	–
46 r1/2	2817	Mariya Yakovenko	RUS	51.67 (46)	–
47 r1/2	3307	María González	VEN	50.51 (47)	–
48 r1/2	2859	Patsy Akeli	SAM	49.26 (48)	–
49 r1/2	2057	Ásdís Hjálmsdóttir	ISL	48.59 (49)	–
50 r1/2	2556	Leryn Franco	PAR	45.34 (50)	–
51 r1/2	1269	Rumyana Karapetrova	BUL	40.15 (51)	–
AC r1/2	2068	Zahra Bani	ITA	– (NM)	–
AC r1/2	2898	Tatjana Jelača	SRB	– (NM)	–
DQ	2800	Mariya Abakumova	RUS	[63.48] (DQ)	[70.78] (DQ)		1

Qualifying Round (19 August 2008)

Top 12 and ties and all those reaching 61.50 metres advanced to the final.

Pos	Athlete	NOC	Distance
1	Barbora Špotáková	CZE	67.69	Q
2	Christina Obergföll	GER	67.52	Q
3	Steffi Nerius	GER	63.94	Q
4	Goldie Sayers	GBR	62.99	Q
5	Barbara Madejczyk	POL	62.81	Q
6	Mercedes Chilla	ESP	61.81	Q
7	Zhang Li	CHN	61.77	Q
8	Katharina Molitor	GER	60.92	q
9	Felicia Țilea-Moldovan	ROU	60.81	q
10	Osleidys Menéndez	CUB	60.51	q
11	Sinta Ozoliņa	LAT	60.13	q
12	Justine Robbeson	RSA	59.63
13	Urszula Piwnicka	POL	59.28
14	Savva Lika	GRE	59.11
15	Vira Rebryk	UKR	59.05
16	Mikaela Ingberg	FIN	58.82
17	Chang Chunfeng	CHN	58.42
18	Yanet Cruz	CUB	58.06
19	Laverne Eve	BAH	57.36
20	Jarmila Klimešová	CZE	57.25
21	Nikolett Szabó	HUN	57.15
22	Natallia Shymchuk	BLR	57.11
23	Sílvia Cruz	POR	57.06
24	Olha Ivankova	UKR	57.05
25	Moonika Aava	EST	56.94
26	Alessandra Resende	BRA	56.53
27	Buoban Pamang	THA	56.35
28	Lindy Agricole	SEY	56.32
29	Erma-Gene Evans	LCA	56.27
30	Maryna Novik	BLR	56.10
31	Inga Stasiulionytė	LTU	55.66
32	Sunette Viljoen	RSA	55.58
33	Olivia McKoy	JAM	55.51
34	Tetiana Liakhovych	UKR	55.50
35	Anastasiya Svechnikova	UZB	55.31
36	Martinka Ratej	SLO	55.30
37	Kim Kreiner	USA	55.13
38	Zuleima Araméndiz	COL	54.71
39	Monica Stoian	ROU	54.56
40	Kara Patterson	USA	54.39
41	Song Dan	CHN	54.32
42	Nadeeka Lakmali	SRI	54.28
43	Christina Scherwin	DEN	53.95
44	Alexandra Tsisiou	CYP	53.24
45	Kim Gyeong-Ae	KOR	53.13
46	Mariya Yakovenko	RUS	51.67
47	María González	VEN	50.51
48	Patsy Akeli	SAM	49.26
49	Ásdís Hjálmsdóttir	ISL	48.59
50	Leryn Franco	PAR	45.34
51	Rumyana Karapetrova	BUL	40.15
NM	Zahra Bani	ITA	–
NM	Tatjana Jelača	SRB	–
DQ	Mariya Abakumova	RUS	[63.48]	Q	2

Qualifying Round, Group A (19 August 2008 — 9:00)

Pos	Ord	Athlete	NOC	Distance	Group A Round One	Group A Round Two	Group A Round Three
1	18	Barbora Špotáková	CZE	67.69	67.69	–	–
2	3	Steffi Nerius	GER	63.94	59.15	59.74	63.94
3	25	Mercedes Chilla	ESP	61.81	56.98	61.81	–
4	19	Zhang Li	CHN	61.77	58.30	61.77	–
5	22	Osleidys Menéndez	CUB	60.51	60.51	×	60.41
6	8	Sinta Ozoliņa	LAT	60.13	60.13	×	52.62
7	15	Urszula Piwnicka	POL	59.28	51.33	52.99	59.28
8	9	Savva Lika	GRE	59.11	56.44	58.59	59.11
9	21	Vira Rebryk	UKR	59.05	55.77	57.12	59.05
10	13	Chang Chunfeng	CHN	58.42	58.42	×	×
11	11	Nikolett Szabó	HUN	57.15	56.98	57.15	×
12	24	Natallia Shymchuk	BLR	57.11	55.56	57.11	×
13	27	Sílvia Cruz	POR	57.06	54.65	57.06	×
14	20	Alessandra Resende	BRA	56.53	54.05	56.53	54.32
15	4	Inga Stasiulionytė	LTU	55.66	55.66	×	55.34
16	14	Sunette Viljoen	RSA	55.58	53.14	55.58	53.82
17	6	Anastasiya Svechnikova	UZB	55.31	55.31	×	48.71
18	2	Martinka Ratej	SLO	55.30	55.30	51.56	53.24
19	10	Zuleima Araméndiz	COL	54.71	51.30	54.71	×
20	5	Monica Stoian	ROU	54.56	×	54.56	×
21	12	Kara Patterson	USA	54.39	54.00	50.35	54.39
22	7	Nadeeka Lakmali	SRI	54.28	×	53.44	54.28
23	17	Christina Scherwin	DEN	53.95	53.95	×	×
24	16	Kim Gyeong-Ae	KOR	53.13	51.46	48.00	53.13
25	23	María González	VEN	50.51	48.37	50.51	42.32
NM	1	Zahra Bani	ITA	–	×	×	×
DQ	26	Mariya Abakumova	RUS	[63.48]	[61.23]	[63.48]	–	3

Qualifying Round, Group B (19 August 2008 — 10:40)

Pos	Ord	Athlete	NOC	Distance	Group B Round One	Group B Round Two	Group B Round Three
1	15	Christina Obergföll	GER	67.52	67.52	–	–
2	5	Goldie Sayers	GBR	62.99	60.79	62.99	–
3	3	Barbara Madejczyk	POL	62.81	62.81	–	–
4	26	Katharina Molitor	GER	60.92	55.65	53.50	60.92
5	6	Felicia Țilea-Moldovan	ROU	60.81	53.25	55.89	60.81
6	1	Justine Robbeson	RSA	59.63	56.75	54.26	59.63
7	14	Mikaela Ingberg	FIN	58.82	55.71	58.82	58.36
8	20	Yanet Cruz	CUB	58.06	58.06	57.15	57.03
9	10	Laverne Eve	BAH	57.36	55.22	57.36	55.15
10	12	Jarmila Klimešová	CZE	57.25	52.18	57.25	×
11	17	Olha Ivankova	UKR	57.05	55.63	51.98	57.05
12	9	Moonika Aava	EST	56.94	×	56.94	×
13	23	Buoban Pamang	THA	56.35	53.69	×	56.35
14	11	Lindy Agricole	SEY	56.32	56.32	55.90	50.74
15	22	Erma-Gene Evans	LCA	56.27	46.79	54.60	56.27
16	16	Maryna Novik	BLR	56.10	56.10	×	53.48
17	27	Olivia McKoy	JAM	55.51	55.51	×	53.85
18	19	Tetiana Liakhovych	UKR	55.50	55.50	×	53.59
19	25	Kim Kreiner	USA	55.13	55.13	53.81	53.48
20	24	Song Dan	CHN	54.32	53.11	54.32	×
21	8	Alexandra Tsisiou	CYP	53.24	53.24	×	47.18
22	4	Mariya Yakovenko	RUS	51.67	47.90	51.67	50.49
23	2	Patsy Akeli	SAM	49.26	47.83	42.78	49.26
24	7	Ásdís Hjálmsdóttir	ISL	48.59	×	×	48.59
25	18	Leryn Franco	PAR	45.34	45.34	×	43.77
26	21	Rumyana Karapetrova	BUL	40.15	40.15	-	–
NM	13	Tatjana Jelača	SRB	–	×	×	×

Final Round (21 August 2008 — 19:20)

Pos	Ord	Athlete	NOC	Distance	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6
1	11/7/7	Barbora Špotáková	CZE	71.42	69.22	67.04	×	64.92	×	71.42
2	4/6/6	Christina Obergföll	GER	66.13	66.13	×	63.34	×	×	×
3	10/5/5	Goldie Sayers	GBR	65.75	65.75	59.40	62.92	59.72	65.03	56.83
4	8/4/4	Steffi Nerius	GER	65.29	64.05	62.25	59.97	×	×	65.29
5	12/3/3	Osleidys Menéndez	CUB	63.35	63.35	×	×	×	×	×
6	1/1/1	Barbara Madejczyk	POL	62.02	58.74	59.16	58.67	×	58.21	62.02
7	3/2/2	Katharina Molitor	GER	59.64	53.19	57.37	59.64	58.81	56.72	57.00
8	9	Mercedes Chilla	ESP	58.13	×	57.94	58.13	–	–	–
9	2	Zhang Li	CHN	56.14	54.69	×	56.14	–	–	–
10	6	Sinta Ozoliņa	LAT	53.38	50.67	53.38	52.23	–	–	–
11	7	Felicia Țilea-Moldovan	ROU	53.04	53.04	×	52.80	–	–	–
DQ	5/8/8	Mariya Abakumova	RUS	[70.78]	[69.32]	[69.08]	[x]	[70.78]	[x]	[67.52]	4