Following this, the current seven foot (2.13m) diameter circle was introduced. In 1887 the weight of the hammer was fixed at 16 pounds (7.26kg) with a wire, of between 1.175m and 1.215m in length attached to a grip, replacing the wooden handle. The throwing style most often used involves three (or four) rotations around the load bearing foot in a heel-toe-heel sequence.

The utilisation of a concrete base for throwing increased the possible speed of rotation and the use of wolfram and tungsten for the head of the hammer - thereby reducing the diameter (minimum today is 110mm) - helped increase the distances thrown from the 1950s.

The first recorded women's marks date back to 1931 in Spain but it was only as recently as 1982 that anyone threw even 40m. The hammer used weighs 4kg (same as the shot) and the IAAF began ratifying women's world records in 1995. The event attained senior World Championship status from 1999 and made its Olympic bow in Sydney.