A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente (five) and -athlon (competition). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Five events were contested over one day for the Ancient Olympic pentathlon, starting with the long jump, javelin throwing, and discus throwing, followed by the stadion and wrestling. Pentathletes were considered to be among the most skilled athletes, and their training was often part of military service—each of the five events in the pentathlon was thought to be useful in war or battle.
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.
Virgilijus Alekna is a Lithuanian former discus thrower and politician. He won medals at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics, including two golds.
Rutger Smith is a retired Dutch track and field athlete who competed in the shot put and discus throw. He is the first athlete to win medals at the World Championships in both events. He represented the Netherlands at the Summer Olympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012. His personal best of 21.62 m for the shot put is the Dutch national record.
The 2nd All-Africa Games – Lagos 1973 were played from January 7, 1973, to January 18, 1973, in Lagos, Nigeria.
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. Forty-five athletes from 28 nations competed. 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.
L. Jay Silvester and participated in college athletics at Utah State University from 1956 to 1959 is an American retired athlete who mainly competed in the discus throw. In this event he finished in fourth, fifth, second and eighth place at the 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics, respectively, and won a bronze medal at the 1975 Pan American Games.
Burger Lambrechts is a South African shot putter.
The men's shot put at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Olympia was held on August 18, 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 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 final of the men's discus throw event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain was held on August 5, 1992. There were 32 participating athletes from 24 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The top 12 and ties, and all those reaching 63.00 metres advanced to the final. The event was won by Romas Ubartas of Lithuania, a victory for the nation in its debut appearance in the men's discus throw. Jürgen Schult took silver, the first medal for unified Germany. Roberto Moya earned Cuba's first men's discus throw medal since 1980 with his bronze. Ubartas and Schult became the 11th and 12th men to win multiple discus throw medals; they had both represented different nations (the Soviet Union and East Germany, respectively, in 1988 and had finished one-two then as well, though in the opposite order.
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 2016.
The men's discus throw event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had an entry list of 18 competitors from 12 nations, with one qualifying group and the final (12) held on Monday July 28, 1980. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Viktor Rashchupkin of the Soviet Union, the nation's first medal and first victory in the men's discus throw. Imrich Bugár put Czechoslovakia back on the podium in the event after a one-Games absence, taking silver. Luis Delís earned Cuba's first men's discus throw medal with his bronze. The United States, which had earned at least one medal in every appearance of the event prior to 1980, missed the podium due to the boycott.
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.
Hendrik Beltsazer Hart was a South African athlete who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics.
Stephanus ("Fanie") Johannes du Plessis was a discus thrower and shot putter, who represented South Africa at two Summer Olympics in 1956 and 1960. He was twice gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games in the men's discus throw event.
The men's discus throw was a competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 6–7 August. Forty-one athletes from 24 nations competed. The event was won by Robert Harting of Germany, the nation's first victory in the men's discus throw since 1996 and second overall. Ehsan Haddadi earned Iran's first medal in the event with his silver. Gerd Kanter of Estonia became the 15th man to win multiple medals in the event, adding a bronze to his 2008 gold. Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania narrowly missed being the second man to win four medals in the event, finishing fourth.
Australia has participated in every Summer Paralympic Games since the inception of the Paralympics in the year 1960. The 1976 Paralympic Games in Toronto was Australia's fifth Paralympic Games. Australia competed in 10 out of the 13 sports and were able to win medals in six of these sports. There were 44 athletes representing Australia at the Games with a number of these athletes participating in multiple sports. Of the 44 athletes, 34 were males and 10 were females. As a team, Australia won 41 medals, 16 of which were gold. This placed it just outside the top 10 in 11th position at the end of the Games. The Australian team won more gold medals at the 1976 Paralympic Games than at any of the previous four Paralympic Games. 26 athletes finished on the podium in their respective events. This represents more than half the number of athletes that Australia sent to Toronto. Six world records were broken by Australian athletes on their way to winning their respective events.
Stephen Ogochukwu Mozia is a US-born Nigerian shot putter. He is a three-time African Championships Bronze medallist. He also represented his country at the 2014 and 2016 World Indoor Championships, as well as the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Karel Potgieter is a South African former shot put athlete who competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics, where he scored a 19.02 in the first heat, not enough to advance to the next round. His personal best is 20.29. He is the brother of fellow Olympian Frits Potgieter.
South Africa 
