How to Win a Tuna-Throwing Contest

(Photo: Tunarama Festival)

Pictured above is Jackie Hockaday who won the 2014 tuna-throwing contest by hurling a 20-pound fish 36.5 feet.

Every year, the seaside fishing town of Port Lincoln, South Australia holds a tuna-throwing competition as part of an annual tuna-themed festival. Port Lincoln has long been a major center for tuna fishing. Many years ago, when men wanted jobs on the docks hauling in fish, they had to demonstrate their ability to hurl a fish a great distance.

This practical feat of strength is now a popular sport. Physically, it's similar to the Olympic sport of hammer throwing. Atlas Obscura explains:

Matt Staunton is a four-time tuna tossing champion (he and his wife Shanell Staunton won the men and women’s titles in 2015) who credits his background as a hammer thrower with his success. Ideal tuna tossing form is so similar to hammer throwing, says Staunton, that “it’s all the preparation you need” In both cases, the ideal method seems to be spinning in a few circles to gather up some velocity and letting the tuna fly at the ideal moment. The current record-holder is Sean Carlin, an Olympic hammer thrower from Adelaide. He managed to throw a tuna 37.23 meters (or 122 feet) in 1998—a record that still stands today.


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