Discus throw | Weight, Olympics, Technique, Equipment, & Facts | Britannica (original) (raw)

discus throw, sport in athletics (track and field) in which a disk-shaped object, known as a discus, is thrown for distance. In modern competition the discus must be thrown from a circle 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) in diameter and fall within a 34.9° sector marked on the ground from the center of the circle.

Discus throw dimensions. (Left) Dimensions of discus for women and men, (centre) discus-throwing circle, and (right) discus-throwing sector.

The sport was known in the days of the Greek poet Homer, who mentions it in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and it was one of five events included in the pentathlon in the ancient Olympic Games. Throwing the discus was introduced as an event in modern athletics when the Olympic Games were revived at Athens in 1896.

Early modern athletes threw the discus from an inclined pedestal, using an exaggerated style derived from ancient representations of the sport. Throwing from a 2.13-meter (7-foot) circle on the ground superseded this, and the circle was enlarged to its present size in 1912.

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The modern throwing style is a graceful whirling movement, with the athlete making about one and a half quick turns while accelerating across the circle. Thus, the discus is slung out and not really thrown at all; the difficulty lies in controlling the discus, which is held under and against the hand and wrist chiefly by centrifugal force.

The modern discus used in men’s competition is circular, about 220 mm (8.66 inches) in diameter and 45 mm (1.77 inches) thick at its center. It is made of wood or similar material, with a smooth metal rim and small, circular brass plates set flush into its sides. Its weight must be not less than 2 kg (4.4 pounds).

Al OerterAmerican athlete Al Oerter launching an Olympic discus at the 1968 Games in Mexico City, where he won his fourth gold medal.

A discus event was included when women’s track and field was added to the Olympic program in 1928. A slightly smaller discus weighing 1 kg (2 pounds 3.2 ounces) and 181 mm (7.13 inches) is used in women’s events.

Notable discus throwers include American Al Oerter, who first broke the 200-foot mark; American Mac Wilkins, who was first to break officially the 70-meter (230-foot) mark; German Jürgen Schult, who broke the world’s record for discus throw in 1986 with a 74.08-meter (243.04-foot) throw; German Lisel Westermann, the first woman to break the 200-foot mark; and Russian Faina Melnik, who broke the 70-meter mark in women’s competition.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Rick Livingston.