The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the shot—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival (1896), and women's competition began in 1948.
The men's discus throw competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held at the Olympic Stadium on 21–23 August. It was originally planned to hold the discus throw at the Ancient Olympia Stadium, but it was discovered that the field was not large enough to accommodate the range of modern discus throwers, and would have posed a danger to spectators. As such, it was decided to move the discus throw and to hold the shot put at the ancient stadium, despite the fact that the shot put was not contested at the Ancient Olympic Games. Thirty-nine athletes from 26 nations competed.
The Men's Shot Put event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 15. The Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski entered the competition as the world-leading athlete and one of the favourites. Much was expected of the four-man United States team, consisting of defending champion Reese Hoffa, Olympic silver medalist Christian Cantwell, former world champion Adam Nelson, and newcomer Dan Taylor.
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 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 men's shot put at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 23 August.
The men's discus throw at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 27 and 29 August.
The men's javelin throw at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 24 and 26 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 May 27, 2023, Crouser reset his outdoor world record with a throw of 23.56m bettering his previous world record by 7.48 inches/19 cm. In 2021, at the U.S. Olympic Trials he threw 23.37 m to break Randy Barnes's 31-year-old record of 23.12 m by almost 10 inches (25 cm).
The men's shot put at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 5–6 August.
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 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.
The men's discus throw at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha from 28 to 30 September 2019.
The men's triple jump at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 21 and 23 July 2022.
The men's hammer throw at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 15 and 16 July 2022.
The women's triple jump at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 16 and 18 July 2022. 28 athletes from 20 nations entered to the event.
The women's shot put at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 15 and 16 July 2022.
The women's javelin throw at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 20 and 22 July 2022.
The men's shot put at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on 19 August 2023.
The women's hammer throw at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on 23 and 24 August 2023.
