The first world record in the men's discus was recognised by the International Association of Amateur Athletics (IAAF), now known as World Athletics, in 1912, and was set by James Duncan in 1912 (47.58 m).
As of 2025, 42 world records have been ratified by World Athletics in the event. [1] Another 14 are acknowledged but are unofficial, since they were set before the founding of IAAF.
| Ratified | |
| Not ratified | |
| Ratified but later rescinded | |
| Pending ratification |
| Mark | Athlete | Date | Location | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47.58 m (156 ft 1 in) |  James Duncan (USA) | 27 May 1912 | New York City | |
| 47.61 m (156 ft 2+1⁄4 in) |  Thomas Lieb (USA) | 14 September 1924 | Chicago | |
| 47.89 m (157 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | Glenn Hartranft (USA) | 2 May 1925 | San Francisco | |
| 48.20 m (158 ft 1+1⁄2 in) | Bud Houser (USA) | 3 April 1926 | Palo Alto | |
| 49.90 m (163 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Eric Krenz (USA) | 9 April 1929 | ||
| 51.03 m (167 ft 5 in) | 17 May 1930 | |||
| 51.73 m (169 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Paul Jessup (USA) | 23 August 1930 | Pittsburgh | |
| 52.42 m (171 ft 11+3⁄4 in) |  Harald Andersson (SWE) | 25 August 1934 | Oslo | |
| 53.10 m (174 ft 2+1⁄2 in) |  Willy Schröder (GER) | 28 April 1935 | Magdeburg | |
| 53.26 m (174 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | Archie Harris (USA) | 20 June 1941 | Palo Alto | |
| 53.34 m (175 ft 0 in) |  Adolfo Consolini (ITA) | 26 October 1941 | Milan | |
| 54.23 m (177 ft 11 in) | 14 April 1946 | |||
| 54.93 m (180 ft 2+1⁄2 in) | Bob Fitch (USA) | 8 June 1946 | Minneapolis | |
| 55.33 m (181 ft 6+1⁄4 in) |  Adolfo Consolini (ITA) | 10 October 1948 | Milan | |
| 56.46 m (185 ft 2+3⁄4 in) | Fortune Gordien (USA) | 9 July 1949 | Lisbon | |
| 56.97 m (186 ft 10+3⁄4 in) | 14 August 1949 | Hämeenlinna | ||
| 57.93 m (190 ft 1⁄2 in) | Sim Iness (USA) | 20 June 1953 | Lincoln | |
| 58.10 m (190 ft 7+1⁄4 in) | Fortune Gordien (USA) | 11 July 1953 | Pasadena | |
| 59.28 m (194 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | 22 August 1953 | |||
| 59.91 m (196 ft 6+1⁄2 in) |  Edmund Piątkowski (POL) | 14 June 1959 | Warsaw | |
| 59.91 m (196 ft 6+1⁄2 in) |  Rink Babka (USA) | 12 August 1960 | Walnut | |
| 60.56 m (198 ft 8+1⁄4 in) | Jay Silvester (USA) | 11 August 1961 | Frankfurt, West Germany | |
| 60.72 m (199 ft 2+1⁄2 in) | 20 August 1961 | Brussels, Belgium | ||
| 61.10 m (200 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | Al Oerter (USA) | 18 May 1962 | Los Angeles | |
| 61.64 m (202 ft 2+3⁄4 in) |  Vladimir Trusenyev (USSR) | 4 June 1962 | Leningrad, USSR [2] | |
| 62.45 m (204 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Al Oerter (USA) | 1 July 1962 | Chicago | |
| 62.62 m (205 ft 5+1⁄4 in) | 27 April 1963 | Walnut | ||
| 62.94 m (206 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | 25 April 1964 | |||
| 64.55 m (211 ft 9+1⁄4 in) |  Ludvik Danek (TCH) | 2 August 1964 | Turnov, Czechoslovakia | |
| 65.22 m (213 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | 12 October 1965 | Sokolov, Czechoslovakia | ||
| 66.54 m (218 ft 3+1⁄2 in) | Jay Silvester (USA) | 25 May 1968 | Modesto | |
| 68.40 m (224 ft 4+3⁄4 in) A | 18 September 1968 | Reno | ||
| 68.40 m (224 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | Ricky Bruch (SWE) | 5 July 1972 | Stockholm | |
| 68.48 m (224 ft 8 in) |  John van Reenen (RSA) | 14 March 1975 | Stellenbosch | |
| 69.08 m (226 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | John Powell (USA) | 3 May 1975 | Long Beach | |
| 69.18 m (226 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | Mac Wilkins (USA) | 24 April 1976 | Walnut | |
| 69.80 m (229 ft 0 in) | 1 May 1976 | San Jose | ||
| 70.24 m (230 ft 5+1⁄4 in) | ||||
| 70.86 m (232 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | ||||
| 71.16 m (233 ft 5+1⁄2 in) |  Wolfgang Schmidt (GDR) | 9 August 1978 | Berlin | |
| 71.86 m (235 ft 9 in) | Yuriy Dumchev (USSR) | 29 May 1983 | Moscow | |
| 74.08 m (243 ft 1⁄2 in) | Jürgen Schult (GDR) | 6 June 1986 | Neubrandenburg, East Germany | |
| 74.35 m (243 ft 11 in) |  Mykolas Alekna (LTU) | 14 April 2024 | Ramona | [3] |
| 74.89 m (245 ft 8+1⁄4 in) | 13 April 2025 | [4] | ||
| 75.56 m (247 ft 10+3⁄4 in) | [4] |
On 7 July 1981, Ben Plucknett of the United States won a meet in Stockholm with a world record throw of 72.34 m (237 ft 4 in), [5] but the record was nullified by the I.A.A.F. one week later when they announced that Plucknett had tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid nortestosterone. [6]
On 13 April 2025, Mykolas Alekna broke his own world record of 74.35 m from the previous year twice, throwing 74.89 and 75.56 m. [4] At the same event, Australian Matthew Denny also threw 74.78 m (245 ft 4 in), in excess of the old world record. [7] However, Alekna by that point had already surpassed that mark.
| Record | Athlete | Date | Meet | Place | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66.20 m (217 ft 2+1⁄4 in) | Wolfgang Schmidt (GDR) | 9 January 1980 | Berlin, Germany | [8] | |
| 69.51 m (228 ft 1⁄2 in) |  Gerd Kanter (EST) | 22 March 2009 | World Record Indoor Challenge | Växjö, Sweden | [9] |