Tajik athlete wins the last round of 2011 IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge

DUSHANBE, September 15, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik hammer thrower Dilshod Nazarov has won the last round of the 2011 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Hammer Throw Challenge.

Allsportinfo reports internationally known Tajik hammer thrower Dilshod Nazarov won the last round of the 2011 IAAF Hammer throw Challenge that took place in Zagreb, Croatia on September 13.  Nazarov finished first in the competition, making an 80.30 meter throw.

Dilshod Nazarov (born 6 May 1982) is an internationally known Tajik athlete who specializes in the hammer throw.  He has represented Tajikistan at the Olympic Games on two occasions (in 2004 and 2008).  He has also competed at the World Championships in Athletics, but has been most successful at regional competitions: he won medals at four consecutive Asian Athletics Championships and was the hammer champion at the 2006 Asian Games.  He won his first global medal (silver) in 2010 at the IAAF Continental Cup.

The 2010 IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge was the inaugural edition of the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge, an international series of hammer throw competitions around the world.  2010 marked the first edition of the IAAF Diamond League, which replaced the IAAF Golden League as the highest level of international track and field meetings. The Diamond League sought to showcase all the events, but according to IAAF, hammer throw could not be included for infrastructure reasons. Therefore, a separate Hammer Throw Challenge was created.