The javelin competition at the 1972 Games was the closest in Olympic history. Wolfermann had taken the lead from Jānis Lūsis of the USSR in the fifth round with an Olympic Record throw of 90.48 meters. Then, in the sixth and final round, Lūsis let fly with a very long effort that measured at 90.46 meters – Wolfermann's two centimeter margin was, at the time, the smallest unit of measurement used in javelin competitions.
On 5 May 1973, Klaus Wolfermann set a new world record in the javelin throw, bettering Lūsis' previous record of 93.80 meters with a mark of 94.08 m. Wolfermann's record stood until 26 July 1976, when Hungary's Miklós Németh threw his javelin for 94.58 m at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
