A men's javelin weighs 800 grams and measures 2.6 to 2.7 metres. A women's javelin weighs 600 grams and measures 2.2 to 2.3 metres. Those two implements cover the Olympics, the NCAA, and every US high school meet that contests the event. Four more legal weights sit around them for youth and masters throwers. Behind all of it is the specification that actually decides how a javelin flies, and it isn't the weight. The level-by-level chart is in javelin weight by age.
You can't buy a short 800 g javelin. Each weight carries its own length window in the rule. The 800 g runs 2.60 to 2.70 m, the 600 g runs 2.20 to 2.30 m, the 500 g runs 2.00 to 2.10 m. An implement outside its window fails inspection even when the scale reads correctly, which is why officials measure on a javelin board as well as a scale.
World Athletics fixes the distance from the tip to the centre of gravity: 0.90 to 1.06 m on the 800 g, 0.80 to 0.92 m on the 600 g. That window, together with the rule governing how the tail tapers, is what makes a modern javelin nose over and land point first. Shift the balance point backwards and the implement starts gliding again. That nose-down flight is also why javelin throwers release nearer 34 degrees than 45, as the measured release angles show.
800 g is the minimum for competition, not the target. Manufacturers build into a supply range of 805 to 825 g so the implement still passes inspection once the tip wears down and the cord grip soaks up sweat. The 600 g is built at 605 to 625 g for the same reason. Inspectors check against the minimum, never the nominal. Shot put specs work as minimums for the same reason, covered in the legal shot put weights.
This is the one place the specs branch. NFHS, the NCAA, and World Athletics all put 15 to 18 year old boys on the 800 g implement. USATF's own youth rules put boys in the 15-16 and 17-18 divisions on an 850 g javelin instead, a heavier implement than the one the same athlete throws in a school uniform two weeks later. Girls are unaffected; both bodies use 600 g.
The legal weight is fixed for you. Your release angle and the alignment of the tip are not, and those two decide whether a throw carries or stalls at 40 metres. Film one throw from side on and AI compares your block, release height, and arm path against throwers at your level.
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Weight is a legal minimum and length is a legal window. Both are checked at implement inspection before you throw a single warm-up.
| Level / Division | Boys / Men | Girls / Women |
|---|---|---|
| USATF 8 and under | Mini javelin, 300 g class | Mini javelin, 300 g class |
| USATF 9-10 | Aero javelin, 250 g class | Aero javelin, 250 g class |
| USATF 11-12 | Aero javelin, 450 g class | Aero javelin, 450 g class |
| USATF 13-14 | 600 g (1.32 lb), 2.20-2.30 m | 600 g (1.32 lb), 2.20-2.30 m |
| USATF 15-16 and 17-18 | 850 g (1.87 lb), 2.60-2.70 m | 600 g (1.32 lb), 2.20-2.30 m |
| High school, NFHS | 800 g (1.76 lb), 2.60-2.70 m | 600 g (1.32 lb), 2.20-2.30 m |
| World Athletics U18 | 700 g (1.54 lb), 2.30-2.40 m | 500 g (1.10 lb), 2.00-2.10 m |
| NCAA, all three divisions | 800 g (1.76 lb), 2.60-2.70 m | 600 g (1.32 lb), 2.20-2.30 m |
| World Athletics U20, senior, Olympic | 800 g (1.76 lb), 2.60-2.70 m | 600 g (1.32 lb), 2.20-2.30 m |
| Masters 35-49 | 800 g (1.76 lb), 2.60-2.70 m | 600 g (1.32 lb), 2.20-2.30 m |
| Masters 50-59 | 700 g (1.54 lb), 2.30-2.40 m | 500 g (1.10 lb), 2.00-2.10 m |
| Masters 60-69 men, 60-74 women | 600 g (1.32 lb), 2.20-2.30 m | 500 g (1.10 lb), 2.00-2.10 m |
| Masters 70-79 men, 75 and over women | 500 g (1.10 lb), 2.00-2.10 m | 400 g (0.88 lb), 1.85-1.95 m |
| Masters 80 and over men | 400 g (0.88 lb), 1.85-1.95 m | 400 g (0.88 lb), 1.85-1.95 m |
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