Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics | ||
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Track events | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
800 m | men | women |
1500 m | men | women |
5000 m | men | women |
10,000 m | men | women |
Sprint hurdles | men | women |
400 m hurdles | men | women |
3000 m steeplechase | men | |
4 × 100 m relay | men | women |
4 × 400 m relay | men | women |
Road events | ||
Marathon | men | women |
20 km walk | men | women |
50 km walk | men | |
Field events | ||
Long jump | men | women |
Triple jump | men | women |
High jump | men | women |
Pole vault | men | women |
Shot put | men | women |
Discus throw | men | women |
Javelin throw | men | women |
Hammer throw | men | women |
Combined events | ||
Combined | men | women |
Men's discus throw at the Games of the XXVII Olympiad | ||||||||||
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![]() Pictogram for athletics | ||||||||||
Venue | ANZ Stadium | |||||||||
Dates | 24 September 2000 (qualifying) 25 September 2000 (final) | |||||||||
Competitors | 45 from 28 nations | |||||||||
Winning distance | 69.30 | |||||||||
Medalists | ||||||||||
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The men's discus throw event at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday, 24 September and Monday, 25 September. [1] Forty-five athletes from 28 nations competed. [2] The event was won by Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania, the nation's second victory in the men's discus throw. Lars Riedel of Germany took silver, becoming the 13th man to win multiple discus throw medals. Frantz Kruger earned South Africa's first medal in the event with his bronze.
The qualifying athletes progressed through to the final where the qualifying distances are scrapped and they start afresh with up to six throws. The qualifying distance was 64.00 metres. For all qualifiers who did not achieve the standard, the remaining spaces in the final were filled by the longest throws until a total of 12 qualifiers.
This was the 24th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The top nine finishers from the 1996 Games all returned, along with the last finalist: gold medalist Lars Riedel and sixth-place finisher Jürgen Schult of Germany, silver medalist Vladimir Dubrovshchik and bronze medalist Vasiliy Kaptyukh of Belarus, fourth-place finisher Anthony Washington and twelfth-place finisher Adam Setliff of the United States, fifth-place finisher Virgilijus Alekna and eighth-place finisher Vaclavas Kidykas of Lithuania, seventh-place finisher Vitaliy Sidorov of Ukraine, and ninth-place finisher Alexis Elizalde of Cuba. Schult was the world record holder and had medaled twice before (gold in 1988, silver in 1992). Riedel had won four of the last five world championships; Washington had won the latest. But Alekna had the best results in 2000 so far, hitting the second- and third-best throws to date (Schult's 1986 record still stands as of 2020). [2]
Turkmenistan and Qatar each made their debut in the men's discus throw. The United States made its 23rd appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.
Each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to three athletes that had thrown 63.50 metres or further during the qualification period. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. If an NOC had no athletes that qualified under that standard, one athlete that had thrown 62.00 metres or further could be entered. [3]
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 64.00 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 eight competitors receiving an additional three attempts. The best distance among those six throws counted. [2] [4]
Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
World record | ![]() | 74.08 | Neubrandenburg, East Germany | 6 June 1986 |
Olympic record | ![]() | 69.40 | Atlanta, United States | 31 July 1996 |
No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.
All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10)
Date | Time | Round |
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Sunday, 24 September 2000 | 10:00 | Qualifying |
Monday, 25 September 2000 | 19:00 | Final |
Rank | Athlete | Nation | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Distance | Notes |
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![]() | Virgilijus Alekna | ![]() | 58.55 | 67.54 | 68.73 | 66.64 | 69.30 | 64.78 | 69.30 | |
![]() | Lars Riedel | ![]() | 65.18 | X | 68.50 | 68.08 | 67.33 | 63.87 | 68.50 | |
![]() | Frantz Kruger | ![]() | 67.89 | X | 68.19 | 68.06 | X | 62.72 | 68.19 | AR |
4 | Vasiliy Kaptyukh | ![]() | 58.93 | 64.50 | 67.59 | 64.42 | 65.07 | 66.70 | 67.59 | PB |
5 | Adam Setliff | ![]() | 60.50 | 66.02 | 64.72 | 65.10 | 63.10 | 61.99 | 66.02 | |
6 | Jason Tunks | ![]() | 59.59 | 64.58 | 65.35 | X | 65.80 | 64.38 | 65.80 | |
7 | Vladimir Dubrovshchik | ![]() | 63.95 | 65.13 | X | 64.32 | X | 60.15 | 65.13 | |
8 | Jürgen Schult | ![]() | X | 60.83 | 63.34 | 64.41 | 62.63 | 61.96 | 64.41 | |
9 | Aleksander Tammert | ![]() | 55.84 | 59.26 | 63.25 | Did not advance | 63.25 | |||
10 | Michael Möllenbeck | ![]() | 61.19 | 60.13 | 63.14 | Did not advance | 63.14 | |||
11 | Dmitriy Shevchenko | ![]() | X | X | 62.65 | Did not advance | 62.65 | |||
12 | Anthony Washington | ![]() | X | X | 59.87 | Did not advance | 59.87 |
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Virgilijus Alekna is a Lithuanian former discus thrower and politician. He won medals at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics, including two golds.
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The men's discus throw event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 29 competitors from 20 nations, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Saturday October 1, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Jürgen Schult of East Germany, the nation's first victory in the men's discus throw and first medal since 1976. Romas Ubartas of the Soviet Union took silver, while Rolf Danneberg of West Germany earned bronze. Danneberg was the 10th man to win multiple discus throw medals, adding to his 1984 gold. For the first time, the United States competed in the event but did not make the podium.
The men's discus throw at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California had an entry list of 20 competitors from 14 nations, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on August 10, 1984. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Rolf Danneberg of West Germany, the nation's first medal in the men's discus throw and the first victory by any German athlete in the event. Mac Wilkins and John Powell of the United States won silver and bronze; they were the eighth and ninth men to win multiple discus throw medals. The United States continued its 19-Games streak of earning at least one medal every time it appeared, missing the podium only in the boycotted 1980 Games; however, this would be the last Games in that streak—and, in fact, the last medals the United States would earn in the event through at least 2020.
The men's discus throw event at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 16–19 August at the Beijing National Stadium. Thirty-seven athletes from 29 nations competed. The event was won by Gerd Kanter of Estonia, the nation's first victory in the men's discus throw. Piotr Małachowski took silver to give Poland its first medal in the event. Lithuanian thrower Virgilijus Alekna's bronze made him the third man to win three medals in the sport, adding to his gold medals from 2000 and 2004.
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