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 women's discus throw competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held at the Olympic Stadium on 20–21 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.
The women's shot put at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held on 18 August 2004 at the Ancient Olympia Stadium. It was originally planned to hold the discus throw at this venue, 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 instead to hold the shot put at the site, despite the fact that the shot put was not contested at the Ancient Olympic Games. All distances are given in metres.
The women's shot put event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 16 August at the Beijing Olympic Stadium. The qualifying standards were 18.35 m and 17.20 m.
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 women's shot put event at the 2013 Summer Universiade was held on 10–11 July.
The women's shot put competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 12 August. Each athlete receives three throws in the qualifying round. All who achieve the qualifying distance progress to the final. If less than twelve athletes achieve this mark, then the twelve furthest throwing athletes reach the final. Each finalist is allowed three throws in last round, with the top eight athletes after that point being given three further attempts.
The men's shot put at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 23 August.
The women's shot put at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 22 August.
The women's shot put at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 8–9 August.
The women's shot put at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, as part of the athletics programme, took place in the Carrara Stadium on 12 and 13 April 2018.
The women's shot put event at the 2020 Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place on 30 July and 1 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. Approximately 35 athletes are expected to compete; the exact number will depend on how many nations use universality places to enter athletes in addition to the 32 qualifying through distance or ranking.
The women's shot put competition of the athletics events at the 2019 Pan American Games will take place on the 9 of August at the 2019 Pan American Games Athletics Stadium. The defending Pan American Games champion is Cleopatra Borel from Trinidad and Tobago.
The women's shot put at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, from 2 to 3 October 2019.
The women's heptathlon at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, as part of the athletics programme, took place in the Alexander Stadium on 2 and 3 August 2022.
The women's shot put at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships was held at the Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero on 1 and 2 August.
The women's 200 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, as part of the athletics programme, took place in the Alexander Stadium on 4, 5 and 6 August 2022.
The women's 400 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, as part of the athletics programme, took place in the Alexander Stadium on 3, 5 and 7 August 2022.
The women's 100 metres (T38) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, as part of the athletics programme, took place in the Alexander Stadium on 2 August 2022.
The women's shot put (F57) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, as part of the athletics programme, took place in the Alexander Stadium on 6 August 2022.
