He was less successful at subsequent championships and finished in eighth in the qualifiers 2002 World Junior Championships.
He represents the sports club SCC Berlin, his coach is Torsten Schmidt. He took the gold medal at the 2005 European Athletics U23 Championships. He began competing at the senior level soon after and took part in the 2006 European Championships, where he just missed the qualifying mark in the earlier round of the competition.
He was fourth at the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Final and then was second at the European Winter Throwing Cup the following year.
He threw a personal best of 68.65 m in Kaunas in June and was selected for the German team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He finished in fourth with a throw of 67.09 m.
He closed the season with a bronze medal at the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final. The final remaining competitor and leader since the 1st round, Polish athlete Piotr Malachowski, was unable to better the German"s throw.
He threw 68.47 m in the final of the 2010 European Athletics Championships but this was not enough to beat Malachowski.
Still, the silver medal was his first at the primary continental championships. In May 2012 Harting threw a personal best of 70.31 m at the Hallesche Werfertage Meeting, clearing seventy metres for the first time. In 2014, he retained the European title.
Harting is known for exuberant victory celebrations, including ripping the shirt off his chest, running with a German flag over the hurdles from the hurdles race, placing mascots on his shoulders and jogging on the track.
He defended his world title at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics with a winning mark of 68.97 m.