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.
Alessandro Andrei is an Italian former shot putter. He was born in Florence.
The men's shot put at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics was held on August 18, 2004, at the Ancient Olympia Stadium in Olympia, Greece. It was originally planned to hold the discus throw at this venue, but it was discovered that the field was insufficiently large 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. Thirty-nine athletes from 26 nations competed.
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.
Tomas Walsh is a New Zealand athlete who competes mainly in the shot put. He is the current national record holder both outdoors and indoors for the event. His personal best of 22.90 m, set in Doha, 5 October 2019, is also the Oceanian record and makes him the seventh best shot putter in history.
Darlan Romani is a Brazilian track and field athlete specialising in the shot put. He was the Indoor World Champion in 2022, finished 4th at the 2020 Olympic Games, 4th at the 2019 World Championships, and was champion of the 2019 and 2023 Pan American Games.
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 at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 23 August.
Joseph Mathias Kovacs is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and has a personal record of 23.23 meters outdoors and 22.05 meters indoors. He won gold medals at the 2015 and 2019 World Championships. He won silver medals at the 2017 World Championships, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. His personal best of 23.23 metres makes him the second best competitor all-time in the shot put event.
Ryan Crouser is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus. He specializes in the shot put, in which he is the only three-time Olympic gold medalist, having won in Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Paris, and also a two-time World Champion. He holds the world record in the shot put, both indoors and outdoors. He set the outdoor world record at 23.56 meters in May 2023, improving upon his previous record of 23.37 m from July 2021. He has held the indoor record of 22.82 m since January 2021.
The men's shot put at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 5–6 August.
Leonardo Fabbri is an Italian shot putter. He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in shot put.
Payton Otterdahl is an American male shot putter who competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
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.
The men's shot put at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha from 3 to 5 October 2019. The winning margin was 1 cm which as of 2024 is the only time the men's shot put has been won by under 5 cm at these championships.
Armin Sinančević is a Bosniak and Serbian shot putter.
Zane Weir is an Italian shot putter of South African descent. He has represented Italy since February 2020, and competed for them at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He won gold at the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
The men's shot put at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 15 and 17 July 2022.
The men's shot put at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on 19 August 2023. The winning margin was 1.17 metres which as of 2024 is the only time the men's shot put has been won by more than a metre at these championships.
The women's shot put at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on 26 August 2023
