The event was won by Gyula Zsivótzky of Hungary, who had taken silver in both 1960 and 1964; he was the third man to win three medals in the hammer throw (after John Flanagan and Matt McGrath.

Zsivótzky defeated defending champion Romuald Klim of the Soviet Union, who earned silver this time to become the sixth man to win multiple medals in the event.

Zsivótzky had the best throw of the pair, a world record 73.76 metres, but Klim had won nine straight head-to-head matchups between the two.

[2] El Salvador and Nicaragua each made their debut in the event; East and West Germany both competed separately for the first time.

For the second straight Games, Gyula Zsivótzky led the qualifying round with an Olympic record throw, this time of 72.60 metres.