Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's shot put

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Men's shot put
at the Games of the I Olympiad
Garrett.jpg
Robert Garrett
Venue Panathinaiko Stadium
Dates7 April 1896
Competitors7 from 4 nations
Winning distance11.22 OR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Robert Garrett
US flag 44 stars.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Miltiadis Gouskos
Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece
Bronze medal icon.svg Georgios Papasideris
Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece
1900  

The men's shot put was one of two throwing events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. Seven athletes took part in the shot put competition on 7 April. The two Greek athletes both won medals, with Gouskos battling closely with Garrett of the United States for the longest distance. [1]

Background

This was the first appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Fifteen athletes entered, but only seven started. The world record holder was George Gray of Canada, but he was absent; so too was 1896's best thrower, Irishman Denis Horgan. The event was "excessively popular in Greece" and was one of the events where the hosts had a real opportunity to win. [2] [3] [4]

Competition format

The shot put event 1896 Summer Olympics - Shot put.jpg
The shot put event

There was a single round of throwing. The format of the competition is unclear; it appears that each thrower received three throws and the top four after that received three more. The Official Report, though, says that "Five Competitors retired after a little while, only ... Gouskos and Mr Garret kept up the sport for a considerable length of time." [2] [3]

The throwing stage was a 2.13 metre square.George S. Robertson said that this square "corresponded with no known rules, although the event was purported to be held under English rules." Robertson attributed the short distances of the event to this oddity of the field. [2]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1896 Summer Olympics.

World recordCanadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg  George Gray  (CAN)*14.32 Chicago, United States 16 September 1893
Olympic recordN/A

* unofficial

The following record was established during the competition:

DateEventAthleteNationDistance (m)Record
April 7Final Robert Garrett US flag 44 stars.svg  United States 11.22 OR

Schedule

DateTimeRound
GregorianJulian
Tuesday, 7 April 1896Tuesday, 26 March 189615:40Final

Results

Detailed results are not known. The top three finishers, and their best throws, are clear; however, after that sources differ even as to who the competitors were. The IOC lists the seven competitors below, with rankings for the top four. The Official Report gives Garrett's winning distance as 11.22 metres, with Gouskos "a few centimetres" behind. The IOC webpage gives Gouskos's distance at 11.20 metres, while other sources give varying distances (Kluge agrees with 11.20, Olympedia has 11.03, zur Megede has 11.15). All agree on Papsideris's third-place distance at 10.36 metres. There are two entirely different sets of four competitors for 4th through 7th: the IOC and Olympedia have Jensen in 4th, with Clark, Hofmann, and Schuhmann also competing, while Kluge and zur Megede have Robertson, Adler, Sotirios Versis, and Winckler (all except Versis listed by Olympedia as entered but not starting) in order for 4th through 7th places. They have a 9.95 metre throw for Robertson listed. The IOC does not give a distance for any athlete after 3rd, but Olympedia has 10.00 metres for Scuhmann. [5] [4] [6] [2]

While most of the throwing sequence is unknown, the two best throws are specifically recorded. Garrett's winning throw was his first throw. Gouskos's best, coming closest to Garrett's, was his last. The ultimate Gouskos throw was so close that the home nation crowd thought it good enough for a win, and the "official posting the scores made an error and initially listed Gouskos as the winner"; however, the error was corrected and Garrett announced as the winner. [2] [3]

Olympedia lists 12 nonstarters, but states (consistent with the Official Report) that "seven of the 15 final entries actually started). [2] [3]

RankAthleteNationDistanceNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Robert Garrett US flag 44 stars.svg  United States 11.22 OR
Silver medal icon.svg Miltiadis Gouskos Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece 11.20
Bronze medal icon.svg Georgios Papasideris Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece 10.36
4 Viggo Jensen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Unknown
5—7 Ellery Clark US flag 44 stars.svg  United States Unknown
Carl Schuhmann Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany 10.00
Fritz Hofmann Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany Unknown
Louis AdlerFlag of France.svg  France DNS
Conrad Böcker Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany DNS
Alfred Flatow Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany DNS
Adolphe Grisel Flag of France.svg  France DNS
Holger Nielsen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark DNS
Pál PéthyFlag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary DNS
George S. Robertson Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain DNS
Momčilo Tapavica Flag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary DNS
Charles VanoniUS flag 44 stars.svg  United States DNS
Desiderius Wein Flag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary DNS
Hermann Weingärtner Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany DNS
Charles Winckler Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark DNS

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References

  1. "Athletics at the 1896 Athens Summer Games: Men's Shot Put". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Shot Put, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Official Report, p. 69.
  4. 1 2 Ekkehard zur Megede (1970). Die Geschichte der olympischen Leichtathletik, Band 1: 1896–1936 (2nd ed.). Berlin: Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG.
  5. Volker Kluge (1997). Olympische Sommerspiele – Die Chronik I. Berlin. ISBN   3-328-00715-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. "Shot Put Men". IOC. Retrieved 29 September 2020.

Sources