Joy McArthur

Joy McArthur
Personal information
Full nameJoy Iris McArthur
Born (1999-07-05) July 5, 1999 (age 27)
Mission Viejo, California, U.S.
Sport
SportAthletics
Event
Hammer throw
Achievements and titles
Personal bestHammer: 70.51 m (2024)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Japan
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place2026 NagoyaHammer throw
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place2023 BangkokHammer throw

Joy Iris McArthur (ジョイ・アイリス・マッカーサー, McArthur Joy Iris; born July 5, 1999) is a Japanese hammer thrower. In 2026, she won the bronze medal at the Asian Games in Nagoya. She also won the silver medal at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships.

Early life

Joy Iris McArthur was born in Mission Viejo, California on July 5, 1999. Her father is former professional basketball player Eric McArthur. Her mother is Japanese. Her older brother and younger sister are also basketball players. Because her father played for a Japanese team, McArthur came to Japan when she was five months old and grew up in Nagoya, Aichi until she was eight years old.

Following her father's departure from the team, the family returned to Dana Point, California. After returning home, McArthur took up track and field, becoming a discus thrower and shot putter. She attended Niguel Hills Middle School, Dana Hills High School, and the University of Southern California (USC).

Athletic career

After enrolling at Dana Hills High School, McArthur began taking up hammer throw at the suggestion of her coach. She won the women's hammer throw at the 2016 U.S. Junior Athletics Championships with a throw of 62.07 m (203 ft 7+1⁄2 in). This earned her a spot on the U.S. team at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where she finished in 9th place in Heat A in the preliminaries. She continued her athletic career while enrolled at the USC and its graduate school.

In February 2022, McArthur chose Japanese citizenship and set her sights on competing in international competitions as a Japanese representative. Following this, she applied to World Athletics for a change in nationality, and after approval, she became a Japanese athlete and registered with the Japan Association of Athletics Federations.

On April 7, 2023, McArthur won the women's hammer throw at the Ron & Sharlene Allice Trojan Invitational at the Felix Field and Loker Stadium in Los Angeles, California, throwing 69.89 m (229 ft 3+1⁄2 in), setting a Japanese record, beating Yuka Murofushi's 67.77 m (222 ft 4 in) in 2004, which had stood for 19 years. On June 3, she competed in the women's hammer throw at the Japan Championships in Athletics at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, throwing 63.31 m (207 ft 8+1⁄2 in) on her first attempt and maintained that lead to win her Japanese title. She won the silver medal at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.

On March 22, 2024, McArthur broke her own Japanese record in the women's hammer throw at the Ron & Sharlene Allice Trojan Invitational in Los Angeles, with a throw of 70.51 m (231 ft 3+3⁄4 in). She finished in fourth place at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea.

At the 2026 Asian Games, McArthur won the bronze medal in the women's hammer throw, with a throw of 68.42 m (224 ft 5+1⁄2 in), her best throw of the season.

Notes

  1. ↑ Under the provisions of Japanese nationality law, McArthur, who was born in the United States, had to choose between Japanese and American citizenship by the time she turned 22.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "女子ハンマー投げに超新星 23歳マッカーサーが日本選手権初出場V…昨年米国から日本国籍へ" (in Japanese). スポーツ報知. June 3, 2023.
  2. ↑ "TEAM JAPAN 名簿（2023年 9/29版）" (PDF). JOC 日本オリンピック委員会 (in Japanese). 2023-09-29. p. 5.
  3. ↑ "2016 USATF JUNIOR OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Result". USA Track & Field.
  4. ↑ "Hammer Throw women IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016". World Athletics.
  5. ↑ "国籍の選択について" (in Japanese). Ministry of Justice.
  6. ↑ "米国の女子ハンマー投選手が日本国籍取得 全米ジュニア優勝の実力者" (in Japanese). 月刊陸上競技. March 23, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Ron & Sharlene Allice Trojan Invitational Women's Hammer Throw". World Athletics.
  8. ↑ "女子ハンマー投ジョイ・マッカーサーが69m89の特大日本新! 昨年2月に日本国籍取得" (in Japanese). 月刊陸上競技. April 8, 2023.
  9. ↑ "NCH Women's Hammer Throw(4.000kg)" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan Association of Athletics Federations.
  10. ↑ "China bags men's and women's hammer throw golds at Asian Athletics Championships". People's Daily. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  11. ↑ "女子ハンマー投でマッカーサー・ジョイが70m51の日本新！自身の記録を62cm更新し、日本女子初の70ｍオーバー". 月陸Online (in Japanese). 月刊陸上競技. 2024-03-23. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  12. ↑ "26th Asian Athletics Championships - Women's hammer throw results" (PDF). Asian Athletics. 27 May 2025. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  13. ↑ ""地元"マッカーサー・ジョイがハンマー投銅メダル！今季ベスト68m42スロー、村上も8位入賞／名古屋アジア大会". 月陸Online (in Japanese). 月刊陸上競技. 2026-09-29. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  14. ↑ "Zhang's monster hammer throw and Yavi's distance treble cap Asian Games in Nagoya". World Athletics. 29 September 2026. Retrieved 30 September 2026.