Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's shot put

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Men's shot put
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
Opening of the Olympic Games in London, 29 July, 1948. (7649948798).jpg
Olympic Stadium (during opening ceremony)
Venue Wembley Stadium
Dates3 August 1948 (qualifying and final)
Competitors24 from 15 nations
Winning distance17.12 OR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Wilbur Thompson
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Jim Delaney
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Bronze medal icon.svg Jim Fuchs
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
  1936
1952  
Video on YouTube Official Video
@ 37:50 TV-icon-2.svg
Video on YouTube Official Video
@ 37:50

The men's shot put event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Twenty-four athletes from 15 nations competed. [1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The competition was held on 3 August. The final was won by American Wilbur Thompson. Thompson's compatriots, Jim Delaney and Jim Fuchs took 2nd and 3rd place. [2] It was the ninth time that an American had won the event, and the fifth time that the Americans had swept the medals.

Background

This was the 11th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the finalists from the pre-war 1936 Games returned. The American team was strong; Charles Fonville, who had been the "best putter early in the year" and had set the world record in April, was unable to even make the three-man roster. Jim Delaney won the U.S. trials, with Wilbur Thompson the runner-up. [1]

Canada, Iceland, Pakistan, and Peru each made their debut in the men's shot put. The United States appeared for the 11th time, the only nation to have competed in all Olympic shot put competitions to date.

Competition format

The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1936, with the qualifying round completely separate from the divided final. In qualifying, each athlete received three attempts; those recording a mark of at least 14.60 metres advanced to the final. If fewer than 12 athletes achieved that distance, the top 12 would advance. The results of the qualifying round were then ignored. Finalists received three throws each, with the top six competitors receiving an additional three attempts. The best distance among those six throws counted. [1] [3]

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World recordFlag of the United States.svg  Charlie Fonville  (USA)17.68 Lawrence, United States 17 April 1948
Olympic recordFlag of the German Reich (1935-1945).svg  Hans Woellke  (GER)16.20 Berlin, Germany 2 August 1936

Jim Fuchs broke the Olympic record with his first throw of the final, at 16.32 metres. Wilbur Thompson, later in the round, threw 16.47 metres to break the new record. In the second throw of the final, Jim Delaney achieved a new record at 16.68 metres. Later in the round, Thompson again broke this new record, putting the shot 17.12 metres. That would hold as the record through the rest of the competition. In all, the three men had 10 throws greater than the old Olympic record: all five of Thompson's legal throws, three of Fuchs's throws, and two of Delaney's. USA took a sweep of the medals.

Schedule

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

DateTimeRound
Tuesday 3 August 194811:00
16:00
Qualifying
Final

Results

Qualifying round

Qual. rule: qualification standard 14.60m (Q) or at least best 12 qualified (q).

RankAthleteNationDistanceNotes
1 Jim Fuchs US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 15.870Q
2 Wilbur Thompson US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 15.090Q
3 Jim Delaney US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 14.970Q
4 Yrjö Lehtilä Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 14.850Q
5 John Giles Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 14.795Q
6 Jaakko Jouppila Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 14.720Q
7 Mieczysław Łomowski Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 14.700Q
Gösta Arvidsson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 14.700Q
9 Konstantinos Giataganas Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece 14.630Q
10 Čestmír Kalina Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 14.540q
11 Sigfús Sigurðsson Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 14.480q
12 Witold Gerutto Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 14.450q
13 Willy Senn Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 14.450
14 Roland Nilsson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 14.360
15 Eric Coy Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada 14.150
16 David Guiney Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland 14.010
17 Vilhjálmur Vilmundarson Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 13.990
18 Roger Verhaes Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 13.540
19 Harold Moody Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 13.400
20–24 Emilio Malchiodi Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina Unknown
Juan Kanhert Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina Unknown
Lionelo Patiño Flag of Peru (1825-1950).svg  Peru Unknown
Nazar Muhammad Khan MalikFlag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Unknown
Ahmed Zahur Khan Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Unknown
Aad de Bruyn Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands DNS
Eduardo Julve Flag of Peru (1825-1950).svg  Peru DNS
François LapicqueFlag of France.svg  France DNS
K. MeraklisFlag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece DNS
Leo Roininen Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada DNS
José Luis TorresFlag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain DNS

Final

RankAthleteNation123456DistanceNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Wilbur Thompson US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 16.47 OR 17.12 OR 16.9716.6716.80X17.12 OR
Silver medal icon.svg Jim Delaney US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 16.1416.68 OR 15.8816.0316.0316.2816.68
Bronze medal icon.svg Jim Fuchs US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 16.32 OR 16.4215.6015.5614.8216.2816.42
4 Mieczysław Łomowski Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland Unknown15.43
5 Gösta Arvidsson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Unknown15.37
6 Yrjö Lehtilä Flag of Finland.svg  Finland Unknown15.05
7 Jaakko Jouppila Flag of Finland.svg  Finland Unknown14.59
8 Čestmír Kalina Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia Unknown14.55
9 Konstantinos Giataganas Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece Unknown14.54
10 Witold Gerutto Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland Unknown14.37
11 John Giles Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain Unknown13.73
12 Sigfús Sigurðsson Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Unknown13.66

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Shot Put, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  2. "Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's Shot Put". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  3. Official Report, p. 270.