The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy spherical ball—the shot—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's competition began in 1948.
Tomasz Majewski is a Polish shot putter and a double Olympic gold medalist. He is the third shot putter to successfully defend the Olympic title, first European to do so, and the first since Parry O'Brien in 1956.
The men's shot put was an event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. The qualifying round and the final both were held on Wednesday November 28, 1956. Fourteen shot putters from ten nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.
David Storl is a German track and field athlete who specialises in the shot put. He was successful on the youth and junior athletics circuit, winning gold medals at the World Youth Championships and World Junior Championships. Storl won his first senior medal, a silver, at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
Maksim Viktorovich Sidorov is a Russian shot putter. He has a personal best throw of 21.51 metres (70.571 ft).
The men's shot put competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 3 August. Forty athletes from 34 nations competed. The event was won by Tomasz Majewski of Poland, the nation's second consecutive and third overall victory in the men's shot put. Majewski was the third man to successfully defend Olympic shot put gold, both of whom added a silver medal after their two golds). David Storl of Germany took silver, the first medal for united Germany since 1936. Reese Hoffa took bronze to keep the American podium streak going at eight consecutive Games.
The Men's shot put event at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on September 1 and 2.
Ryan Keith Whiting is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and has a personal record of 22.28 meters outdoors and 22.35 meters indoors. His biggest international senior success to date is first place at the 2012 World Indoor Championships. He represented the United States at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, 2013 World Championships in Athletics, 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2012 London Olympics.
Kurt Roberts is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put. He set his personal record for the event in 2014, throwing 21.50 m to take second at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Tomas Walsh is a New Zealand athlete who competes mainly in the shot put. He is the current national record holder both outdoors and indoors for the event. His personal best of 22.90 m, set in Doha, 5 October 2019, is also the Oceanian record and makes him the sixth best shot putter in history.
Darlan Romani is a Brazilian track and field athlete specialising in the shot put. Indoor World Champion in 2022, he also finished 4th at the 2020 Olympic Games, 4th at the 2019 World Championships, and was champion of the 2019 Pan American Games.
Klaus Bodenmüller is an Austrian former track and field athlete who competed in the shot put. He is Austria's best ever performer in the event and holds the Austrian records at 20.79 m outdoors and 21.03 m indoors.
The men's shot put competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 18 August. Thirty-four athletes from 24 nations competed. The event was won by Ryan Crouser of the United States, the nation's first victory in the event since 2004. His teammate Joe Kovacs took silver. Tomas Walsh earned New Zealand's first medal in the men's shot put.
The women's shot put competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 12 August. Each athlete receives three throws in the qualifying round. All who achieve the qualifying distance progress to the final. If less than twelve athletes achieve this mark, then the twelve furthest throwing athletes reach the final. Each finalist is allowed three throws in last round, with the top eight athletes after that point being given three further attempts.
Jordan Michael Clarke is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the shot put. He holds a personal record 21.49 m for the event, set in 2015. He was the gold medalist at the 2014 Pan American Sports Festival. Clarke was third at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2015.
The men's shot put at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 23 August.
Ryan Crouser is an American shot putter and discus thrower. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Olympic record holder. Crouser is the current world record holder in the shot put, both indoor and outdoor. On June 18, 2021, at the U.S. Olympic Trials he threw 23.37 m on his fourth attempt to beat Randy Barnes's 31-year-old record of 23.12 m by almost 10 inches (25 cm). On January 24, 2021, he threw 22.82 m to set a new world indoor shotput record in Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. The previous world indoor record of 22.66 m was set by Barnes in 1989. Crouser also had a 22.70 m throw in the fourth round that broke the 32-year-old world record.
The women's shot put at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships took place on 2 March 2018.
The men's shot put event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place between 3 and 5 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. Thirty-one athletes from 22 nations competed. For the first time in Olympic history, the same three competitors received the same medals in back-to-back editions of an the same individual event. Americans Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs and New Zealander Tom Walsh repeated their gold, silver, and bronze (respectively) performances from the 2016 Summer Olympics. They became the 15th, 16th, and 17th men to earn multiple medals in the shot put; Crouser was the 4th to repeat as champion.
The men's shot put at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha from 3 to 5 October 2019.
