Shot Put History

The shot put event is an event of both power and grace, as the athlete makes use of a seven-foot circle to propel the shot as far as they can. The shot put event was not an Ancient Greek Olympic event as the ancient Greeks enjoyed events that used natural curves to perform the event, not the brutish strength that is used in the shot put. The shot came probably from the dark-ages as the highland people of the English Islands would compete to see who the strongest warriors were by throwing stones. The event involved in the middle-ages, in Europe specifically, as camped armies would have competitions to see how far individuals could throw cannonballs. Lastly the final dimensions and standards for the shot were developed and made standardized in the mid-1800’s with the 7.26kg or 16-pound weight being used. The seven-foot circle was originally a seven-foot square in which the athletes were to use to throw the shot. Not until the modern-day Olympics beginning in 1896 were the seven-foot circles used.

The technique for the shot put has also developed over time as well. Ralph Rose from the United States won the Olympic Gold in 1904, using a side shuffle technique to propel the shot just over 50-feet. It was not until Parry O’Brien in 1953 revolutionized the technique that we now know of as the glide technique. He also dramatically increased the World Record with a throw of 18.00-meters or just over 59-feet. This technique of the glide has continued to adapt as the years have progressed, with Ulf Timmermann setting the previous World Record with it, at just over 75-feet. The last Olympic Champion was declared using the glide technique in the 2008 Beijing Games and then repeated in 2012 London Games, which O’Brien made famous. In the 1970’s a Russian by the name of Aleksandr Baryshnikov developed the rotation technique. This technique utilized the spin of the discus event to place a longer force on the ball, and thus added several feet to the world record at the time. Baryshnikov was the first athlete to put the shot 22-meters or roughly 72-feet. Then American Brian Oldfield using the spin technique brought the concept to the United States, and was the first athlete to throw over 75-feet, however, at the time world records were not recognized by the committee if the athlete was considered a pro.