Thrown off balance: left-handers are under-represented in elite throwing sports

Compared to the approximately 10% prevalence of left-handers in the general population, left-handedness is over-represented among athletes in various antagonistic, duel-based sports, such as combat sports (e.g. fencing) and interactive ball games (e.g. table tennis). This over-representation is considered indirect evidence of a competitive advantage, often attributed to right-handers’ unfamiliarity with left-handed opponents’ action patterns and/or to superior neuropsychological and motor control abilities among left-handed athletes. While extensive research has examined left-handedness in antagonistic sports, its impact in non-antagonistic disciplines—where direct interactive contests are absent—remains largely underexplored. To address this gap, we analysed left-hander prevalence among over 6000 elite track-and-field athletes ranked in year-end world rankings (2005–2024) across javelin throw, discus throw and shot put. Handedness was determined by athletes’ functional hand used for sport performance, i.e. their throwing or putting hand. Our findings reveal a striking under-representation of left-handed athletes in all three disciplines (approx. 2–5%), for both female and male athletes, compared to the approximately 10% prevalence in the general population. While left-handedness may confer advantages in certain antagonistic sports, our findings suggest it may pose disadvantages in non-antagonistic contexts. We discuss several factors potentially contributing to this pattern.