The discus throw, also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight — called a discus — in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by the fifth-century-BC Myron statue Discobolus. Although not part of the current pentathlon, it was one of the events of the ancient Greek pentathlon, which can be dated back to at least 708 BC, and it is part of the modern decathlon.
John Carl Godina is an American shot putter, whose record includes three World Championship wins and two Olympic medals. He also competes in discus. Godina was born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Robert Harting is a retired German discus thrower. He represents the sports club SCC Berlin, his coach is Torsten Schmidt. He is a former Olympic, World, and European champion in the men's discus throw. His younger brother Christoph is the event's 2016 Olympic champion.
Germán Luján Lauro is an Argentine shot putter and discus thrower. He is the South American record holder in the shot put both indoors and outdoors with marks of 21.04 m and 21.26 m, respectively. His personal best in the discus is 63.55 metres.
Stephanie Brown Trafton is an American track and field athlete who won the discus throwing gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She is thus one of only three American women to have ever won the event.
Mason Finley, is an American shot putter and discus thrower. He was on the track and field team at the University of Kansas before transferring to the University of Wyoming. He qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in discus.
The men's discus throw throwing event at the 1960 Summer Olympics took place on September 6 & September 7. Thirty-five athletes from 22 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Al Oerter of the United States, the nation's third consecutive and 10th overall victory in the men's discus throw. It was Oerter's second gold medal in the event; he would go on to win four. Oerter was the sixth man to win two medals in the event, and the third to win two gold medals. The United States earned its second consecutive and third overall medal sweep in the event, as Rink Babka took silver and Dick Cochran bronze.
Andrew Bloom is an American former Olympic shot putter, two-time national indoor shot put champion, World University Games shot put champion, and NCAA champion in both discus and shot put.
Kibwé Johnson is an American Olympic track and field athlete who specializes in the hammer throw. He has represented his country at the World Championships in Athletics three times. Competed in the 2012 London Olympics where he made the final and finished 9th. No American had made the final since 1996. Johnson competed in 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Ryan Keith Whiting is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and has a personal record of 22.28 meters outdoors and 22.35 meters indoors. His biggest international senior success to date is first place at the 2012 World Indoor Championships. He represented the United States at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, 2013 World Championships in Athletics, 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2012 London Olympics.
Ronald Odair de Oliveira Julião is a Brazilian track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus throw. He is a member of BM&F Bovespa's track club and is trained by João Paulo Alves da Cunha. He is the Brazilian record holder in the discus throw (65.55 m). He is the second highest ranked South American discus thrower after Jorge Balliengo and has won straight titles at the Brazil championships since 2005.
Jason Young is an American discus thrower who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing 19th. At Texas Tech, Young was a two-time All-American in track and field and placed second in the discus at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championship. In 2010 and 2011, he was the runner-up in discus at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He finished 2010 as the number two ranked discus thrower in the world, and has been ranked among the top ten in the United States six times.
James Gunnar Nixon is an American track and field athlete who competes in the decathlon. He broke the American high school record for the event in 2011, and was the World Junior Champion in 2012. He won his first national title indoors in 2013, and was runner-up at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His personal record for the decathlon is 8313 points at the 2013 IAAF World Championships.
James Daniel Parker was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the hammer throw. He represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He won the silver medal at the 2003 Pan American Games.
Jared Schuurmans is an American track and field athlete who competes in the discus throw. He holds a personal record of 66.10 m for the event, set in 2015. He was the American national discus champion in 2015.
Samuel Harrison MattisOLY is an American Olympic track and field athlete who competes in the discus throw, and has a personal record of 68.69 meters. At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, he came in 11th. Mattis represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Men's discus throw in Paris.
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.
Rudy Winkler is an American male track and field athlete who competes in the hammer throw. He is the NACAC area record holder and American record holder with a throw of 82.71 m (271 ft 4 in) for the hammer and holds a personal best of 23.32 m for the weight throw. He was the hammer national champion in 2016 and 2020, winning the 2016. and 2020 United States Olympic Trials.
Andrew Evans is an American track and field athlete who competes in the discus throw.
Valarie Carolyn Allman is an American track and field athlete specializing in the discus throw. She is a two time Olympic champion, having won the gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics. Allman earned bronze at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, which made her the first American woman to win a world championship medal in the discus throw and later added a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships. She is the North American record holder for the event.
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