Modern copy of the Diskophoros, attributed to Alkamenes

The discus throw ( pronunciation) is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus. Although not part of the modern pentathlon, it was one of the events of the ancient pentathlon, which can be dated at least back to 708 BC.^[1]

The discus throw is a routine part of most modern track and field meets at all levels and is a sport which is particularly iconic of the Olympic Games. The men's competition has been a part of the modern Summer Olympic Games since the first Olympiad in 1896. Images of discus throwers figured prominently in advertising for early modern Games, such as fundraising stamps for the 1896 games and the main posters for the 1920 and 1948 Summer Olympics.

The women's competition was added to the Olympic program in the 1928 games, although they had been competing at some national and regional levels previously.

Description[link]

Discus-thrower, tondo of a kylix by the Kleomelos Painter, Louvre Museum

The discus, the object to be thrown, is a heavy lenticular disc with a weight of 2 kilograms (4 lb 4 oz) and diameter of 219–221 mm (8.66 inches) for the men's event, and a weight of 1 kg (2 lb 2 oz) and diameter of 180–182 mm (7.17 inches) for the women's event.

Under IAAF (international) rules, Youth boys (16–17 years) throw the 1.5 kg discus, the Junior men (18–19 years) throw the unique 1.75 kg discus, and the girls/women of those ages throw the 1 kg discus.

In international competition, men throw the 2 kg discus through age 49. The 1.5 kg discus is thrown by ages 50–59, and men age 60 and beyond throw the 1 kg discus. Women throw the 1 kg discus through age 74. Starting with age 75, women throw the 750 gram discus.

The typical discus has sides made of plastic, wood, fiberglass, carbon fiber or metal with a metal rim and a metal core to attain the weight. The rim must be smooth, with no roughness or finger holds. A discus with more weight in the rim produces greater angular momentum for any given spin rate, and thus more stability, although it is more difficult to throw. However, a higher rim weight, if thrown correctly, can lead to a farther throw. A solid rubber discus is sometimes used (see In the United States).

To make a throw, the competitor starts in a circle of 2.5 metres (8 feet 2½ inches) diameter, which is recessed in a concrete pad by 20 mm. The thrower typically takes an initial stance facing away from the direction of the throw. He then spins counter-clockwise (for right-handers) around one and a half times through the circle to build momentum, then releases his throw. The discus must land within a 34.92-degree sector. The rules of competition for discus are virtually identical to those of shot put, except that the circle is larger, a stop board is not used and there are no form rules concerning how the discus is to be thrown.

The distance from the front edge of the circle to where the discus has landed is measured, and distances are rounded down to the nearest centimetre. The competitor's best throw from the allocated number of throws, typically three to six, is recorded, and the competitor who legally throws the discus the farthest is declared the winner. Ties are broken by determining which thrower has the longer second-best throw.

The basic motion is a forehanded sidearm movement. The discus is spun off the index finger or the middle finger of the throwing hand. In flight the disc spins clockwise when viewed from above for a right-handed thrower, and counter-clockwise for a lefty. As well as achieving maximum momentum in the discus on throwing, the discus' distance is also determined by the trajectory the thrower imparts, as well as the aerodynamic behavior of the discus. Generally, throws into a moderate headwind achieve the maximum distance. Also, a faster-spinning discus imparts greater gyroscopic stability. The technique of discus throwing is quite difficult to master and needs lots of experience to get right, thus most top throwers are 30 years old or more.

Phases[link]

Rutger Smith in phases of the discus throw

There are six keys movements of the discus throw: wind up, move in rhythm, balance, right leg engine, orbit, and delivery. The wind up is one of the most important aspects of the throw because it sets the tone for the entire throw. The wind up is both mental and technical. It is mental because the wind up sets you up for the rest of the throw. The following are the technical aspects: flat right foot, on the ball of your left foot, keep your weight evenly distributed between your feet, and do not over do it (being overly active can result in the waste of energy). Although the wind up sets the tone for the entire throw, the rhythm of the throw is the most important aspect. It is necessary to move in rhythm throughout the entire throw. The best throwers contain the same amount of time in each phase while completing a great throw. Focusing on rhythm can bring about the consistency to get in the right positions that many throwers lack. Executing a sound discus throw with solid technique requires perfect balance. This is due to the throw being a linear movement combined with a one and a half rotation and an implement at the end of one arm. Thus, a good discus thrower needs to maintain balance within the circle.^{[citation needed]} It is also important that the discus thrower keeps their shoulders at the same level during the throw until the end, where the thrower must extend their shoulders upward to get good lift under the discus. If extension is executed properly the discus will be at the right angle to ride on the air current and thus be taken a farther distance.

Top ten performers[link]

Robert Garrett at the 1896 Summer Olympics

Rudolf Bauer at the 1900 Olympics

Gerd Kanter in Osaka

Accurate as of July 2010.^[2][3]

Men[link]

Mark	Athlete	Venue	Date
74.08 m (243 ft 0.5 in)	Jürgen Schult (GDR)	Neubrandenburg	June 6, 1986
73.88 m (242 ft 4.7 in)	Virgilijus Alekna (LTU)	Kaunas	August 3, 2000
73.38 m (240 ft 9.0 in)	Gerd Kanter (EST)	Helsingborg	September 4, 2006
71.86 m (235 ft 9.1 in)	Yuriy Dumchev (URS)	Moscow	May 29, 1983
71.70 m (235 ft 2.8 in)	Róbert Fazekas (HUN)	Szombathely	July 14, 2002
71.50 m (234 ft 7.0 in)	Lars Riedel (GER)	Wiesbaden	May 3, 1997
71.32 m (233 ft 11.9 in)	Ben Plucknett (USA)	Eugene	June 4, 1983
71.26 m (233 ft 9.5 in)	John Powell (USA)	San Jose	June 9, 1984
71.26 m (233 ft 9.5 in)	Rickard Bruch (SWE)	Malmö	November 15, 1984
71.26 m (233 ft 9.5 in)	Imrich Bugár (TCH)	San Jose, CA	May 25, 1985

Women[link]

Mark	Athlete	Venue	Date
76.80 m (251 ft 11.6 in)	Gabriele Reinsch (GDR)	Neubrandenburg	July 9, 1988
74.56 m (244 ft 7.4 in)	Zdenka Šilhavá (TCH)	Nitra	August 26, 1984
74.56 m (244 ft 7.4 in)	Ilke Wyludda (GDR)	Neubrandenburg	July 23, 1989
74.08 m (243 ft 0.5 in)	Diana Sachse-Gansky (GDR)	Karl-Marx-Stadt	June 20, 1987
73.84 m (242 ft 3.1 in)	Daniela Costian (ROU)	Bucharest	April 30, 1988
73.36 m (240 ft 8.2 in)	Irina Meszynski (GDR)	Prague	August 17, 1984
73.28 m (240 ft 5.0 in)	Galina Savinkova (URS)	Donetsk	September 8, 1984
73.23 m (240 ft 3.1 in)	Tsvetanka Khristova (BUL)	Kazanlak	April 19, 1987
73.10 m (239 ft 10.0 in)	Gisela Beyer (GDR)	Berlin	July 20, 1984
72.92 m (239 ft 2.9 in)	Martina Hellmann (GDR)	Potsdam	August 20, 1987

World record progress[link]

Men[link]

Mark	Athlete	Venue	Date
46 m (150 ft 11.0 in)	Harrison Heath (Great Britain)	London	1900-03-12
47.58 m (156 ft 1.2 in)	James Duncan (USA)	New York	1912-05-27
47.61 m (156 ft 2.4 in)	Thomas Lieb (USA)	Chicago	1924-09-14
47.89 m (157 ft 1.4 in)	Glenn Hartranft (USA)	San Francisco	1925-05-02
48.20 m (158 ft 1.6 in)	Bud Houser (USA)	Palo Alto, California	1926-04-02
49.90 m (163 ft 8.6 in)	Eric Krenz (USA)	Palo Alto, California	1929-03-09
51.03 m (167 ft 5.1 in)	Eric Krenz (USA)	Palo Alto, California	1930-05-17
51.73 m (169 ft 8.6 in)	Paul Jessup (USA)	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	1930-08-23
52.42 m (171 ft 11.8 in)	Harald Andersson (SWE)	Oslo	1934-08-25
53.10 m (174 ft 2.6 in)	Willi Schröder (GER)	Magdeburg, Germany	1935-04-28
53.26 m (174 ft 8.9 in)	Archibald Harris (USA)	Palo Alto, California	1941-06-20
53.34 m (175 ft 0.0 in)	Adolfo Consolini (ITA)	Milan	1941-10-26
54.23 m (177 ft 11.0 in)	Adolfo Consolini (ITA)	Milan	1946-04-14
54.93 m (180 ft 2.6 in)	Robert Fitch (USA)	Minneapolis, Minnesota	1946-06-08
55.33 m (181 ft 6.3 in)	Adolfo Consolini (ITA)	Milan	1948-10-10
56.46 m (185 ft 2.8 in)	Fortune Gordien (USA)	Lisbon	1949-07-09
56.97 m (186 ft 10.9 in)	Fortune Gordien (USA)	Hämeenlinna, Finland	1949-08-14
57.93 m (190 ft 0.7 in)	Sim Iness (USA)	Lincoln, Nebraska	1953-06-20
58.10 m (190 ft 7.4 in)	Fortune Gordien (USA)	Pasadena, California	1953-07-11
59.28 m (194 ft 5.9 in)	Fortune Gordien (USA)	Pasadena, California	1953-08-22
59.91 m (196 ft 6.7 in)	Edmund Piątkowski (POL)	Warsaw	1959-06-14
59.91 m (196 ft 6.7 in)	Rink Babka (USA)	Walnut, California	1960-08-12
60.56 m (198 ft 8.3 in)	Jay Silvester (USA)	Frankfurt	1961-08-11
60.72 m (199 ft 2.6 in)	Jay Silvester (USA)	Brussels	1961-08-20
61.10 m (200 ft 5.5 in)	Al Oerter (USA)	Los Angeles	1962-05-18
61.64 m (202 ft 2.8 in)	Vladimir Trusenyev (URS)	Leningrad, USSR	1962-06-04
62.45 m (204 ft 10.7 in)	Al Oerter (USA)	Chicago	1962-07-01
62.62 m (205 ft 5.4 in)	Al Oerter (USA)	Walnut, California	1963-04-27
62.94 m (206 ft 6.0 in)	Al Oerter (USA)	Walnut, California	1964-04-25
64.55 m (211 ft 9.3 in)	Ludvík Daněk (TCH)	Turnov, Czechoslovakia	1964-08-02
65.22 m (213 ft 11.7 in)	Ludvík Daněk (TCH)	Sokolov, Czechoslovakia	1965-10-12
66.54 m (218 ft 3.7 in)	Jay Silvester (USA)	Modesto, California	1968-05-25
68.40 m (224 ft 4.9 in)	Jay Silvester (USA)	Reno, Nevada	1968-09-18
68.40 m (224 ft 4.9 in)	Ricky Bruch (SWE)	Stockholm	1972-07-05
68.48 m (224 ft 8.1 in)	John van Reenen (RSA)	Stellenbosch, South Africa	1975-03-14
69.08 m (226 ft 7.7 in)	John Powell (USA)	Long Beach, California	1975-05-03
69.18 m (226 ft 11.6 in)	Mac Wilkins (USA)	Walnut, California	1976-04-24
69.80 m (229 ft 0.0 in)	Mac Wilkins (USA)	San Jose, California	1976-05-01
70.24 m (230 ft 5.4 in)	Mac Wilkins (USA)	San Jose, California	1976-05-01
70.86 m (232 ft 5.8 in)	Mac Wilkins (USA)	San Jose, California	1976-05-01
71.16 m (233 ft 5.6 in)	Wolfgang Schmidt (GDR)	Berlin	1978-08-09
71.86 m (235 ft 9.1 in)	Yuriy Dumchev (URS)	Moscow	1983-05-29
74.08 m (243 ft 0.5 in)	Jürgen Schult (GDR)	Neubrandenburg, GDR	1986-06-06

Women[link]

Mark	Athlete	Venue	Date
24.90 m (81 ft 8.3 in)	Lilli Henoch (GER)	Berlin	1922-10-01
26.90 m (88 ft 3.1 in)	Lilli Henoch (GER)	Berlin	1923-07-08
27.70 m (90 ft 10.6 in)	Lucie Petit (FRA)	Paris	1924-07-14
28.325 m (92 ft 11.2 in)	Lucie Petit (FRA)	Brussels	1924-07-21
30.225 m (99 ft 2.0 in)	Lucienne Velu (FRA)	Paris	1924-09-14
31.15 m (102 ft 2.4 in)	Maria Vidlaková (TCH)	Prague	1925-10-11
34.15 m (112 ft 0.5 in)	Halina Konopacka (POL)	Warsaw	1926-05-23
38.34 m (125 ft 9.4 in)	Milly Reuter (GER)	Braunschweig	1926-08-22
39.18 m (128 ft 6.5 in)	Halina Konopacka (POL)	Warsaw	1927-09-04
39.62 m (129 ft 11.8 in)	Halina Konopacka (POL)	Amsterdam	1928-07-31
40.345 m (132 ft 4.4 in)	Jadwiga Wajs (POL)	Pabianice	1932-05-15
40.84 m (133 ft 11.9 in)	Grete Heublein (GER)	Hagen	1932-06-19
42.43 m (139 ft 2.5 in)	Jadwiga Wajs (POL)	Lodz	1932-06-19
43.08 m (141 ft 4.1 in)	Jadwiga Wajs (POL)	Królewska Huta	1933-07-15
43.795 m (143 ft 8.2 in)	Jadwiga Wajs (POL)	London	1934-08-11
44.34 m (145 ft 5.7 in)	Gisela Mauermayer (GER)	Ulm	1935-06-02
44.51 m (146 ft 0.4 in)	Gisela Mauermayer (GER)	Nuremberg	1935-06-04
44.76 m (146 ft 10.2 in)	Gisela Mauermayer (GER)	Nuremberg	1935-06-04
44.77 m (146 ft 10.6 in)	Gisela Mauermayer (GER)	Munich	1935-06-23
45.53 m (149 ft 4.5 in)	Gisela Mauermayer (GER)	Munich	1935-06-23
45.97 m (150 ft 9.8 in)	Gisela Mauermayer (GER)	Jena	1935-06-29
46.10 m (151 ft 3.0 in)	Gisela Mauermayer (GER)	Jena	1935-06-29
47.12 m (154 ft 7.1 in)	Gisela Mauermayer (GER)	Dresden	1935-08-25
47.99 m (157 ft 5.4 in)	Gisela Mauermayer (GER)	Munich	1936-06-14
48.31 m (158 ft 6.0 in)	Gisela Mauermayer (GER)	Dresden	1936-07-11
53.25 m (174 ft 8.5 in)	Nina Dumbadze (URS)	Moscow	1948-08-08
53.37 m (175 ft 1.2 in)	Nina Dumbadze (URS)	Gori	1951-05-27
53.61 m (175 ft 10.6 in)	Nina Romashkova (URS)	Odessa	1952-08-09
57.04 m (187 ft 1.7 in)	Nina Dumbadze (URS)	Tblisi	1952-10-18
57.15 m (187 ft 6.0 in)	Tamara Press (URS)	Rome	1960-09-12
57.43 m (188 ft 5.0 in)	Tamara Press (URS)	Moscow	1961-07-15
58.06 m (190 ft 5.8 in)	Tamara Press (URS)	Sofia	1961-09-01
58.98 m (193 ft 6.0 in)	Tamara Press (URS)	London	1961-09-20
59.29 m (194 ft 6.3 in)	Tamara Press (URS)	Moscow	1963-05-19
59.70 m (195 ft 10.4 in)	Tamara Press (URS)	Moscow	1965-08-11
61.26 m (200 ft 11.8 in)	Liesel Westermann (FRG)	São Paulo	1967-11-05
61.64 m (202 ft 2.8 in)	Christine Spielberg (GDR)	Regis-Breitingen	1968-05-26
62.54 m (205 ft 2.2 in)	Liesel Westermann (FRG)	Werdohl	1968-08-24
62.70 m (205 ft 8.5 in)	Liesel Westermann (FRG)	Berlin	1969-06-18
63.96 m (209 ft 10.1 in)	Liesel Westermann (FRG)	Hamburg	1969-09-27
64.22 m (210 ft 8.3 in)	Faina Melnyk (URS)	Helsinki	1971-08-12
64.88 m (212 ft 10.3 in)	Faina Melnyk (URS)	Munich	1971-09-04
65.42 m (214 ft 7.6 in)	Faina Melnyk (URS)	Moscow	1972-05-31
65.48 m (214 ft 10.0 in)	Faina Melnyk (URS)	Augsburg	1972-06-24
66.76 m (219 ft 0.3 in)	Faina Melnyk (URS)	Moscow	1972-08-04
67.32 m (220 ft 10.4 in)	Argentina Menis (ROU)	Bucharest	1972-09-23
67.44 m (221 ft 3.1 in)	Faina Melnyk (URS)	Riga	1973-05-25
67.58 m (221 ft 8.6 in)	Faina Melnyk (URS)	Moscow	1973-07-11
69.48 m (227 ft 11.4 in)	Faina Melnyk (URS)	Edinburgh	1973-09-07
69.90 m (229 ft 4.0 in)	Faina Melnyk (URS)	Prague	1974-05-27
70.20 m (230 ft 3.8 in)	Faina Melnyk (URS)	Zurich	1975-08-20
70.50 m (231 ft 3.6 in)	Faina Melnyk (URS)	Sochi	1976-04-24
70.72 m (232 ft 0.3 in)	Evelin Jahl (GDR)	Dresden	1978-08-12
71.50 m (234 ft 7.0 in)	Evelin Jahl (GDR)	Potsdam	1980-05-10
71.80 m (235 ft 6.8 in)	Mariya Petkova (BUL)	Sofia	1980-07-15
73.26 m (240 ft 4.3 in)	Galina Savinkova (URS)	Leselidze	1983-05-23
73.36 m (240 ft 8.2 in)	Irina Meszynski (GDR)	Prague	1984-08-17
74.56 m (244 ft 7.4 in)	Zdenka Šilhavá (CSK)	Nitra	1984-08-26
76.80 m (251 ft 11.6 in)	Gabriele Reinsch (GDR)	Neubrandenburg	1988-07-09

Indoor world record progress[link]

Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Ref
66.20 m	Wolfgang Schmidt	Germany	9 January 1980		Berlin, Germany	[4]
69.51 m	Gerd Kanter	Estonia	22 March 2009	World Record Indoor Challenge	Växjö, Sweden	[5]

Culture[link]

Modern copy of Myron's Discobolus in University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden, Denmark

The discus throw is the subject of a number of well-known ancient Greek statues and Roman copies such as the Discobolus and Discophoros.

Discus throwers have been selected as a main motif in numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the €10 Greek Discus commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics. On the obverse of the coin a modern athlete is seen in the foreground in a half-turned position, while in the background an ancient discus thrower has been captured in a lively bending motion, with the discus high above his head, creating a vivid representation of the sport.

United States[link]

In U.S. high school track and field, boys typically throw a discus weighing 1.6 kg (3 lb 9 oz) and the girls throw the 1 kg (2.2 lb) women's discus. Under USATF Youth rules, boys throw the 1 kg discus between the ages of 11-14, and transition to the 1.6 kg discus as 15-18 year olds. Girls throw the 1 kg discus as 11-18 year olds.

Under US high school rules, if a discus hits the surrounding safety cage and is deflected into the sector, it is ruled a foul. In contrast, under IAAF, WMA, NCAA and USATF rules, it is ruled a legal throw. Additionally, under US high school rules, distances thrown are rounded down to the nearest whole inch, rather than the nearest centimetre.

US high school rules allow the use of a solid rubber discus; it is cheaper and easier to learn to throw (due to its more equal distribution of weight, as opposed to the heavy rim weight of the metal rim/core discus), but less durable.

See also[link]

• National champions discus throw (men)
• National champions discus throw (women)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Discus throw

• World Record
• Discus History

Sim Iness

Personal information
Born	July 9, 1930
Medal record Men's Athletics Competitor for the  United States Olympic Games Gold 1952 Helsinki Discus throw

Simeon ("Sim") Garland Iness (July 9, 1930 in Keota, Oklahoma – May 23, 1996 in Porterville, California) was an American discus thrower and Olympic gold medalist.

As a child of sharecroppers, in 1934 his family left Oklahoma due to the on set of the dust bowl and moved to the small San Joaquin Valley town of Tulare, California. There he became lifelong friends with classmate and teammate at Tulare Union High School and Olympic team-mate, decathlon champion Bob Mathias.

Iness first attended college at Compton Junior College, where he won the National Junior College discus championship in 1949. He was also a member of the winning Compton football squad along with future NFL Hall of Famer "Hurricane" Hugh McElhenny, which won the 1948 Junior Rose Bowl game, becoming National Junior College champions. He then transferred to the University of Southern California where he won the NCAA discus championship in 1952 and 1953.

Iness competed for the United States in the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland in the discus throw where he won the gold medal with a throw of 55.03 m. His gold medal triumph started the longest USA winning streak in the discus event in modern Olympic history. He set the discus world's record on June 28, 1953 in Lincoln, Nebraska at 57,93 m, being the first man to throw over 190 feet. He went on to appear in two Hollywood films, "Lady Godiva" with Maureen O'Hara and "Sign of the Pagan" with Jack Palance and Jeff Chandler, both in 1954. He was an Olympic torch-bearer for the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics.

After his Olympic and world record triumph, Iness worked the rest of his life as a high school and college physical education teacher, track and football coach, and education counselor. "Sim Iness Gymnasium" can be found on the campus of Sim's alma-mater, Tulare Union High School. The Sim Iness Collection is housed at the Tulare City Historical Museum.

External links[link]

• Sim Iness Official Website
• Biographical interview with Iness in 1991

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