[2] 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,[2] and East Germany's Detlef Michel, who was one of the favorites and would win the World Championship in 1983, failed to qualify.

[2] 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.

[5][7] In the media of javelin-crazy Finland, the usually friendly attitude towards the Soviet Union was seriously dented by the javelin final as mainstream newspapers criticized the officials.

[3] Jim Dunaway, writing for the American magazine Track & Field News, was even more negative in opining that "the competition should be voided by the IAAF and either held again at some future date, or removed from the Olympic records.