Lillian Copeland was an American track and field Olympic champion athlete, who excelled in discus, javelin throwing, and shot put, setting multiple world records. She has been called "the most successful female discus thrower in U.S. history". She also held multiple titles in shot put and javelin throwing. She won a silver medal in discus at the 1928 Summer Olympics, a gold medal in discus at the 1932 Summer Olympics, and gold medals in discus, javelin, and shot put at the 1935 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine.
Alfred Oerter Jr. was an American athlete and a four-time Olympic Champion in the discus throw. He was the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same individual event in four consecutive Olympic Games. Oerter is an inductee of the IAAF Hall of Fame.
Knut Hjeltnes is a former college coach and track & field athlete from Norway.
The men's discus throw was one of four men's throwing events on the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 15 October 1964. 29 athletes from 21 nations entered, with 1 additional athlete not starting in the qualification round. 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 fourth consecutive and 11th overall victory in the men's discus throw. Oerter became the first man to win three medals in the event, all of them gold. He was only the second person to win three consecutive gold medals in any individual athletics event. It was the third of his four consecutive wins in the event. Ludvik Danek of Czechoslovakia took silver to break up the Americans' two-Games dominance of the discus podium; no non-American had won a medal since 1952. Dave Weill earned bronze to make this the fourth straight Games that the United States had won at least two medals in the event.
James Randel "Randy" Matson is an American track and field athlete who mostly competed in the shot put. Matson won a silver medal at the 1964 and a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics.
Gary Jay Gubner is an American retired heavyweight weightlifter, shot putter and discus thrower. He had his best results in weightlifting, winning two world championship medals in 1962 and 1965 and placing fourth at the 1964 Summer Olympics. He also attempted to qualify for the 1964 Olympics in throwing events, and finished fifth in the shot put at the U.S. Olympic trials. Gubner set several shot put records, including a 53-foot throw with a 16-lb. ball when he was 16, and three world indoor records in 1962. His best result of 19.80 m placed him second in the 1962 world ranking.
Dani Stevens is a retired Australian discus thrower who in 2009 became the youngest ever female world champion in the event. She is the current national and Oceanian record holder. Stevens qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and threw 58.77m in the Women's dicus throw. This was not a sufficient distance to qualify her for the final.
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.
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.
Saimoni Tamani is a Fijian former athlete who specialized in running the 400 metres.
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 event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada had an entry list of 30 competitors from 20 nations, with two qualifying groups before the final (15) took place on Sunday July 25, 1976. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The top twelve and ties, and all those reaching 60.00 metres advanced to the final. The qualification round was held in Saturday July 24, 1976. The event was won by Mac Wilkins of the United States, the nation's 13th victory in the men's discus throw. Wolfgang Schmidt took silver, matching East Germany's best result to date in the event. John Powell gave the United States a second medal in the competition with his bronze. Czechoslovakia's three-Games medal streak, all won by Ludvík Daněk, ended as Daněk finished ninth; the American streak reached 18 Games.
The men's discus throw field event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place on September 1 and 2. Twenty-nine athletes from 18 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. After the retirement of four-time Olympic champion Al Oerter, this was an event that was open to everyone. The favorite was two-time Olympic medalist and 1971 European Champion Ludvík Daněk. Daněk won, completing a full set of three different medals in the event; it was Czechoslovakia's first gold medal in the men's discus throw. Daněk was the second man to win three medals in the event. Jay Silvester of the United States took silver, keeping alive the American streak of medaling in every appearance of the event. Ricky Bruch earned Sweden's first medal in the men's discus throw with his bronze.
The men's discus throw competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico took place on October 14–15. Twenty-seven athletes from 19 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 fifth consecutive and 12th overall victory in the men's discus throw. Oerter finished his run of four victories in the event, the first person to win four consecutive gold medals in any individual Olympic event. For the first time during Oerter's reign, he was the only American on the podium as Lothar Milde of East Germany and Ludvík Daněk of Czechoslovakia took the other two medals. Daněk was the seventh man to win at least two discus throw medals; Oerter remains the only one to win four.
Leif Hilding Arrhenius is a professional American-Swedish athlete competing in the shot put and discus throw. He represented Team Sweden at two World and three European Championships. In addition, he is the 2011 U.S. Collegiate Indoor Champion.
David Lorne Steen is a Canadian former track and field athlete who specialised in the shot put. He was a two-time gold medallist in the event at the Commonwealth Games in 1966 and 1970, breaking games records both times. He had won the bronze medal at the 1962 event. His personal record was 19.21 m, set in 1970.
Lucienne Velu-Chapillon, Mrs Odoul was a French athlete and basketball player. She was inducted into the French Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2011. She was born Paris and died in Quincy-sous-Senart.
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 a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a two-time World Champion. Crouser 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.
