The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the shot—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival (1896), and women's competition began in 1948.
The men's shot put was an event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. There were 26 participating athletes from 18 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event took place on 31 July 1992. The event was won by Mike Stulce of the United States, the nation's first victory in the men's shot put since 1968. His countryman Jim Doehring took silver. Vyacheslav Lykho of the Unified Team earned bronze, the first medal for a Soviet or former Soviet athlete in the event since 1980.
The men's shot put event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 21 competitors from 17 nations, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Friday September 23, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Ulf Timmermann of East Germany, the nation's second victory in the men's shot put. Randy Barnes of the United States took silver, the second straight Games that an American finished second. Werner Günthör earned Switzerland's first medal in the event, a bronze.
These are the official results of the Men's shot put event at the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart, West Germany, held at Neckarstadion on 27 and 28 August 1986.
These are the official results of the Men's Shot Put event at the 1982 European Championships in Athens, Greece, held at the Olympic Stadium "Spiros Louis" on 8 and 9 September 1982.
Karsten Stolz is a retired West German shot putter.
Udo Gelhausen is a retired West German shot putter.
Jonny Reinhardt is a retired German shot putter.
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.
These are the official results of the Men's shot put event at the 1994 European Championships in Helsinki, Finland, held at Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 12 and 13 August 1994. There were a total number of 25 participating athletes, with two qualifying groups.
The men's shot put event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had an entry list of 16 competitors from 11 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was held on Wednesday 30 July 1980, with the qualifying round staged two days earlier in the Lenin Stadium. The top twelve and ties, and all those reaching 19.60 metres advanced to the final. The event was won by Vladimir Kiselyov of the Soviet Union, the nation's first victory in the men's shot put. The Soviet Union became only the third nation to reach the podium in consecutive Games in the event, as East Germany became the second to reach a three-Games streak on the podium as Udo Beyer took bronze. Beyer and Aleksandr Baryshnikov became the ninth and tenth men to win multiple medals in the shot put.
The men's shot put event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States had an entry list of 19 competitors from 13 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was held on August 11, 1984. The event was won by Alessandro Andrei of Italy, the nation's first medal in the men's shot put. Michael Carter and Dave Laut of the United States took silver and bronze, respectively, putting Americans back on the podium for the first time since 1972.
The Men's Shot Put event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 15. The Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski entered the competition as the world-leading athlete and one of the favourites. Much was expected of the four-man United States team, consisting of defending champion Reese Hoffa, Olympic silver medalist Christian Cantwell, former world champion Adam Nelson, and newcomer Dan Taylor.
These are the official results of the Men's shot put event at the 2002 European Championships in Munich, Germany. There were a total number of 27 participating athletes. The final and the qualification round were both held on Tuesday August 6, 2002, with the qualifying mark set at 20.20 metres.
The men's shot put competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 3 August. Forty athletes from 34 nations competed. The event was won by Tomasz Majewski of Poland, the nation's second consecutive and third overall victory in the men's shot put. Majewski was the third man to successfully defend Olympic shot put gold, both of whom added a silver medal after their two golds). David Storl of Germany took silver, the first medal for united Germany since 1936. Reese Hoffa took bronze to keep the American podium streak going at eight consecutive Games.
The men's decathlon at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Luzhniki Stadium on 10–11 August in Moscow, Russia.
Tomas Walsh is a New Zealand athlete who competes mainly in the shot put. He is the current national record holder both outdoors and indoors for the event. His personal best of 22.90 m, set in Doha, 5 October 2019, is also the Oceanian record and makes him the sixth best shot putter in history.
The men's decathlon at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 28 and 29 August.
Ryan Crouser is an American shot putter and discus thrower. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Olympic record holder. Crouser is the current world record holder in the shot put, both indoor and outdoor. On May 27, 2023, Crouser reset his outdoor world record with a throw of 23.56m bettering his previous world record by 7.48 inches/19 cm. In 2021, at the U.S. Olympic Trials he threw 23.37 m to break Randy Barnes's 31-year-old record of 23.12 m by almost 10 inches (25 cm). Crouser is also a two-time World Champion and the World Championship Record holder in the shot put 23.51m, just 2+1⁄2 in off his world record.
Claas Mertens is a German lightweight rower. He won a gold medal at the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette with the lightweight men's eight. He also won ten German National Championship titles. In 2018 Mertens represented Oxford in the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race. He was educated at Shrewsbury School then Harvard University, University of St. Gallen and Christ Church, Oxford.
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