Athletics at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Men's javelin throw

The men's javelin throw event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had 18 competitors in one qualifying group. The qualifying round was staged on July 26, with the automatic qualifying mark set at 80.00 metres (262.47 ft). Twelve advanced to the final, which took place the following day.

The Soviet Union's Dainis Kūla and Aleksandr Makarov won gold and silver, amid allegations that Soviet officials had favored their own athletes.

The qualification was held in rainy conditions, and several favorites had difficulties getting through. All three Soviet throwers and Hungary's defending champion Miklós Németh reached the automatic qualifying mark (80.00 m) in the first round, but the other Hungarian, Ferenc Paragi, who had broken the world record earlier in 1980, only got a good throw in the third and final qualification round, and East Germany's Detlef Michel, who was one of the favorites and would win the World Championship in 1983, failed to qualify.

Only ten athletes reached the automatic qualification mark, so Detlef Fuhrmann and Stefan Stoykov qualified despite not reaching the mark.

The favorites in the final were Paragi, the three Soviets and East Germany's Wolfgang Hanisch, a three-time medalist at European Championships. Hanisch was an early leader after throwing 86.72 m in the first round, closely followed by two Soviets, Heino Puuste and Makarov, and Finland's Antero Puranen. Paragi had problems with his technique and failed to get a good throw, and the third Soviet thrower, Dainis Kūla, had no valid mark after two rounds.

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