Shotput and Discus
5/3/2024
Jude McCormack
Many people think of track and field as just a sport about running, but you’d be wrong. Track is a sport about many things that aren’t just about running, like high jump, long jump, and throwing. Throwing consists of both shotput and discus. In this article, I will be talking about both of these sports and how they work, comparing the two sports side by side, and interviewing some of the players about their experiences with these sports.
Discus is a track and field sport about throwing a 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) disc as far as you can with a certain technique, traditionally in a counterclockwise turn (for right handers). The origins of this sport came from the first Olympic games of ancient Greece, and still is a routine sport in the Summer Olympics. This sport works in track meets with two flights, each typically containing around 10 people. The farther the person typically throws, the later they throw. Each person has 3 chances to throw the farthest distance. In the past few meets of this season, the first place winner for both shotput and discus is Jaden Lucas.
This is a video of someone throwing a discus.
Shotput is a track and field sport that is very similar to discus, only the thing that you are throwing is a metal ball (called the shot) that is about the size of your palm and weighs about 4 kilograms. The first evidence of a shotput-like throwing sport originated in the Scottish Highlands dating approximately in the first century. Not only is shotput different from discus because of the weight and shape, but the throwing styles are different. In a traditional power throw (where you stand in one place as opposed to half-turn or full turn where you move your entire body), discus’s throwing style is with your arm extended and far away from your body. Shotput’s throwing style is with the ball pressed up on your neck.
This is an image of Jackson Wells, a track and field member that I interviewed.
Jackson Wells, a sixth grade thrower attending EJHS says, “Throwing is a unique and fun field event that I think everyone should try at least once. This is my first year throwing both shot and disc and it’s been really fun so far.” Another sixth grade thrower named Mason McCarty says, “I’m not the greatest at throwing, but even so, I think that it is very fun so far. I’ve met new people that I haven’t met before and have strengthened relationships because of this sport.”
Throwing overall, whether shotput or discus, is a very fun and intriguing sport. Each of these sports have their own unique histories of how they came to be, and each of them are received well by people who have played in both of these sports. Thank you for reading, and please fill out the form to tell us what you thought!