Discus Throw

Discus throwing was officially included in the Olympic Games around 708 BC. held when the athlete still had to throw from a pedestal. At the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, discus throwing was already part of the programme, where it was initially thrown down from a pedestal.

After 1912, the form of throwing the discus out of a ring with 1 1/2 revolutions, which is common today, was created. The discus today weighs 2 kg for men and 1 kg for women, it is made of wood with a metal ring or metal core. The turning technique when throwing a discus is very difficult to learn and to perfect, which is why top athletes often only reach their best distances from the age of about 30 years.

The first official world record holder was James Duncan (USA) in 1912 with 47.58 m. At the end of the 1970s, both men and women were already well above that 70 m mark beyond.

With the founding of the International Athletics Federation IAAF in 1912, the first fixed rules for the discus throw were established. Today, in a regular competition, 6 attempts are thrown with the aim of throwing the discus as far as possible into the given sector. The best distance is evaluated for the respective thrower. After the first 3 attempts, the 8 athletes with the best distances qualify for the final.

On July 13, 1981, the International Athletics Federation annulled the 2 discus world records set by Ben Plucknett (USA) because of doping.