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 farther 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.
Panagiotis Paraskevopoulos was a Greek athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, and the 1900 Summer Olympics held in Paris. He was born in Gortynia and died in Corfu.
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.
Gerd Kanter is a retired Estonian discus thrower. He was the 2007 World Champion in the event and won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and bronze in London 2012. His personal best throw of 73.38 m is the Estonian record and the fourth best mark of all time.
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.
Niklas Bo Arrhenius is an American-Swedish track and field athlete who competes and coaches in the discus throw and shot put. He represented Sweden in the discus at 2008 Summer Olympics, was a four-time competitor at the World Athletics Championships, and competed at five consecutive editions of the European Athletics Championships from 2006 to 2016. At the Swedish Athletics Championships he won seven national titles in discus, and was an eight-time champion in the shot put.
Haider Ali is an all-around Pakistani para-athlete who created history at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China by winning Pakistan's first ever Paralympic games medal, a silver. He also shared a new world record with his jump of 6.44 meters at the Games. He has competed at the Paralympics on five occasions in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024. He has the unique record of winning a country's first ever Paralympic gold, silver and bronze medals as he is the only Pakistani to have won a medal in Paralympic history. On 3 September 2021, he became the first gold medalist for Pakistan at the Paralympics. In the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships, he became the first Pakistani Para athlete to win a medal at the World Para Athletics Championships, a silver.
Martin Marić is a Croatian track and field athlete who competes in the discus throw. He has a personal best of 67.92 m, achieved in April 2014 in Chula Vista, California. He also has 72.31 m in the javelin throw, achieved in May 2006. Martin Marić has been a throws coach at the University of Virginia Since 2012. Maric spent the springs of 2010 and 2011 as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Florida.
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 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.
Rashid Shafi Al-Dosari is a Qatari track and field athlete who competed in the discus throw. He has represented Qatar at the Summer Olympics on two occasions, making his debut in 2000 and reaching the final at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He was also a finalist at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. In 2003 he was banned from competing for two years due to his refusal to be tested for doping.
Tonga participated in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9, 2012. Their participation marked their fourth consecutive Summer Paralympics appearance since their début at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. Tonga was represented by the Tonga National Paralympic Committee, and was one of the 45 participating countries that sent only a single athlete. Tonga has always sent only a single athlete from Sydney 2000 to London 2012. Tonga National Paralympic Committee sent a delegation of three people, including one athlete. The sole athlete to represent the nation was ʻAloʻalo Liku, who participated in javelin and discus throw. Liku was the country's flag-bearer during the Games' opening ceremony. Tonga did not win a medal at these Games, however Liku finished with seasonal bests in both the events.
Fedrick Dacres is a Jamaican discus thrower.
Michael Robert Lindsay was a British track and field athlete who competed in the discus throw and shot put disciplines. He represented Great Britain at the 1960 Summer Olympics and in the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Bil Marinkovic is a blind Paralympic athlete from Austria who competes mostly in throwing events.
Oleksiy Serhiyovych Semenov is a Ukrainian discus thrower. He competed for the men's event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he finished twenty-fourth in the qualification round, with a distance of 60.18 metres. His personal best in the outdoor season is 65.96 metres, which was further achieved on July 15, 2012 in Kyiv.
The discus throw is one of four track and field throwing events held at the Summer Olympics. The men's discus throw has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. The women's event was first contested at the 1928 Olympics, being one of the five athletics events in the inaugural Olympic women's programme.
Timothy "Tim" Nedow is a Canadian track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus throw. He has personal bests of 21.33 m in the shot put and 61.49 m in the discus throw. He was the bronze medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2013 Francophonie Games and a five-time champion of the Canadian Track and Field Championships. He has also competed at the World Championships in Athletics, in 2013, and twice at the Summer Universiade. He studied and competed athletically at the University of Tulsa and DePaul University.
Lukas Weißhaidinger is an Austrian discus thrower and shot putter. He was European junior discus champion in 2011 and holds the Austrian record in men's discus throw. He won bronze medals at the 2018 European Championships, 2019 World Athletics Championships, and 2020 Summer Olympics.
Austria 
