Shot Put at the Olympics
The shot put event is one of the four throwing events contested as a part of the track and field discipline in the Olympics. The men's event has been a part of the games since the first Olympics in 1896. The women's event was added to the Olympics in 1948.
Swedish shot putter The United States had dominated the men's short put event in the past winning the gold medal in 14 of the 16 Olympics till 1968. The event has opened up from the 1972 Olympics, where Poland in particular has done well with three gold medals same as the number of gold medals won by the United States.
Ralph Rose of the United States, and Tomasz Majewski of Poland; the current reigning and two time gold medalist in 2008 and 2012 games, are the only men to have won the gold medal twice. In the women's event, Valerie Adams of New Zealand is the only two time gold medalist, winning the event in 2008 and 2012.
The men use a 7.26kg (16lb) weight shot, the women 4kg (8.8lb).
As of July 2024, the current Olympic record is 23.30 m (76 ft 5+1⁄4 in) for the men's event, set by the American Ryan Crouser in Tokyo 2021. For the women's event, the record is 22.41m set by Ilona Slupianek of Germany during the 1980 Moscow Games.
Related Pages
- About the Two Hands Shot Put, a discontinued Olympic event.
- About the Stone Throw, a discontinued Olympic event held only once, in 1906.
- About Track and Field at the Olympics
- See more on the Greatest T&F Athletes at the Olympics.
- List of Olympic Sports
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