The past week was very busy. This is why I have not posted. Besides work and social commitments I also managed to register some .IN domain names, including Joe.In, in the Indian domain name launch. Also this week, an ancient fossil was found in Tarsus, and
The big news in Mersin this weekend is the launch
HOLD ON, HOLD ON, STOP RIGHT THERE. I AM CURRENTLY IN A STATE OF MILD SHOCK. I just found out 2005’s world’s longest hammer throw was thrown in Mersin today. Not only that, but I most likely witnessed and even took a picture of the person throwing the record throw!
I wasn’t even going to write about the hammer throwing I saw today. It occurred on the dirt soccer pitch across the river from where the national politician Deniz Baykal was going to officially open the new path. I was more interested in the path-launch and only watched the hammer throwing from the bridge whilst waiting for Deniz to arrive. This was the same location as Tarkan’s concert last year. The throwing looked like nothing special to me. The only thing strange was the surveying equipment used (instead of tape) to measure the throws. That, and the fact one participant threw far longer than the others.
Whilst looking for the “Mersin” stories at Google News, I discovered Esref Apak threw 78.06 metres at the Turkish National Winter Throwing Championships. This is more than any other person has thrown in 2005.
Taking a photo of what I believe is Esref’s record throw was a complete coincidence. I didn’t know who he was and I only took a photo for the hell of it. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the hammer throw live before. As I mentioned previously, I wasn’t even going to write about the hammer throwing in the blog today. After the record throw, the sparse crowd gave a round of applause.
Anyway, here is Esref, milliseconds after releasing his record throw:
A close-up view of the same throw:
Esref’s follow-up throw:
Close-up:
Hopefully, today’s news will create more interest in the 5th European Winter Throwing Cup to be held in Mersin in 3 weeks’ time.