At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons, the race walks, and the shot put. A total of 46 events were contested, of which 24 by male and 22 by female athletes.
The 2004 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, were a summer multi-sport event held in Athens, the capital city of Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. A total of 10,625 athletes from 201 countries represented by National Olympic Committees participated in these games, competing in 301 events in 28 sports. Kiribati and Timor Leste competed for the first time in these Olympic Games.
Adam McCright Nelson is an American shot putter and Olympic gold medalist. Nelson competed in three consecutive Olympic Games in 2000, 2004 and 2008. In addition to his gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, Nelson won a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics.
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 hammer throw competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held at the Olympic Stadium on 20–22 August. There were 35 competitors from 24 nations. After a series of doping-related disqualifications, the event was won by Koji Murofushi of Japan, the nation's first medal in the event. All distances are given in metres.
Manuel "Manolo" Martínez Gutiérrez is a retired Spanish shot putter. Nicknamed the "Gentle Giant", his personal best throw outdoors is 21.47 metres and he has an indoor best of 21.26 m. These marks are the Spanish national records for the event. His international career lasted from 1992 to 2011 and he earned national selection on 84 occasions – the most by any Spanish athlete.
Nadzeya Astapchuk is a Belarusian shot putter. She briefly was designated the Olympic Champion in 2012, but was subsequently stripped of the title for failing a drug test and the gold medal was awarded to New Zealand shot putter Valerie Adams. She was World Champion in 2005, but in March 2013, the IAAF reported that her drug test sample from that event had been retested and found to be positive.
Andrei Anatolyevich Mikhnevich is a Belarusian shot putter with a personal best of 21.69 metres, set in 2003. In 2013 he was banned from sports for life due to his second doping positive.
Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events.
The men's shot put event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 15 August at the Beijing Olympic Stadium. Forty-four athletes from 34 nations competed. The event was won by Tomasz Majewski of Poland, the nation's first victory in the men's shot put since 1972. Christian Cantwell of the United States took silver, the seventh consecutive Games in which an American finished first or second.
The men's shot put event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had an entry list of 16 competitors from 11 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was held on Wednesday 30 July 1980, with the qualifying round staged two days earlier in the Lenin Stadium. The top twelve and ties, and all those reaching 19.60 metres advanced to the final. The event was won by Vladimir Kiselyov of the Soviet Union, the nation's first victory in the men's shot put. The Soviet Union became only the third nation to reach the podium in consecutive Games in the event, as East Germany became the second to reach a three-Games streak on the podium as Udo Beyer took bronze. Beyer and Aleksandr Baryshnikov became the ninth and tenth men to win multiple medals in the shot put.
The men's shot put event at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Olympic Stadium on Friday, 22 September. The shot put has been ever present since the beginning of the modern Olympic Games in 1896. Thirty-seven athletes from 27 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The qualifying athletes progressed through to the final where the qualifying distances were scrapped and they started afresh with up to six throws. The event was won by Arsi Harju of Finland, the nation's first victory in the men's shot put since 1920 and first medal in the event since 1936. Americans Adam Nelson and John Godina took silver and bronze, respectively, with Godina becoming the 12th man to earn multiple shot put medals.
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 hammer throw competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 3–5 August. There were 41 competitors from 32 nations. The event was won by Krisztián Pars of Hungary, the nation's first victory in the men's hammer throw since 1996 and fifth overall. Primož Kozmus of Slovenia, the 2008 winner, took silver. Koji Murofushi of Japan, the 2004 winner, took bronze. Kozmus and Murofoshi were the 12th and 13th men to earn multiple medals in the hammer throw.
The women's shot put competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 6 August.
The shot put at the Summer Olympics is one of four track and field throwing events held at the multi-sport event. The men's shot put has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. The women's event was added to the programme at the 1948 Olympics just over fifty years later.
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 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.
